Animals can get infected with
COVID-19 through close contact, too. According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the risk of animals passing COVID-19 to humans is low,
and pets being seriously ill from the virus is extremely rare (CDC).
A veterinary preventive medicine specialist at Ohio State
University named Andrew Bowman, DVM, Ph.D., MS said the risk of pets spreading
COVID-19 to people is "impossible to quantify at this time."
"It has certainly happened," Bowman said, "but I
don't believe we have enough knowledge to indicate how likely it is to happen
again." "We also don't know the risk factors that make it more or
less likely to happen, nor do we know how to mitigate it possibly."
There have been reports of COVID-19 infections in animals
worldwide, ranging from pets like cats and dogs to hyenas and white-tailed
deer. The majority of these animals became infected after coming into touch
with COVID-19-positive people, such as owners and caregivers.
"We've only seen a few diseases in those animals for the most
part." That isn't to imply that infected animals haven't become sick or
even mortally ill," Bowman added.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, COVID-19
had infected 115 cats and 81 dogs worldwide as of March 2021.
Infections were reported in 110 cats and 95 dogs in the United
States, according to recent data from the USDA's Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS). According to the department, there were also
confirmed instances in 51 tigers, 49 lions, and 14 gorillas.
What Does This Mean for the Pandemic?
While the number of cases in house pets and other animals is
limited, experts believe the pandemic could increase if infections spread to
other species.
If the virus finds new hosts to live in, Suresh Kuchipudi, Ph.D.,
a virologist at Pennsylvania State University, told, it could become nearly
hard to discover the virus and complicate COVID-19 control.
"As we've seen with deer, they pick up infection from people
and pass it on to each other," Kuchipudi said, "but we don't know who
else they're passing it on to." "This generates a complicated
transmission network in which the virus can continue to circulate and change,
increasing the infection's chances of evolving and re - entering human
populations."
Researchers are also worried that widespread virus transmission,
particularly in deer, could lead to further mutations and the creation of new
variants. They could keep variants that aren't transmitting in humans right now
and bring them back later.
According to the Ohio State University College of Veterinary
Medicine, there have been no known cases of COVID-19 infection in livestock.
Researchers at Colorado State University infected livestock, including cattle,
sheep, goats, and a horse, but none animals shed the virus nasally, orally, or
rectally. This shows that COVID-19 is unlikely to pass from livestock to
humans. Furthermore, no cases of COVID-19 in livestock animals have been
confirmed by the USDA.
According to current research, livestock animals aren't a good
host for the virus. "The virus has been unable to bind effectively to
cattle and pigs and infect their cells," she explained.
How Do I Know If My Pets Have COVID-19?
According to the CDC, symptoms of the virus include fever,
coughing, difficulty breathing, runny nose, eye discharge, vomiting, and
diarrhea in pets.
"We may not know in some cases because they don't show any
symptoms," Kuchipudi explained, "but there have been a lot of cases
when dogs and cats have been infected and showed signs of coughing and
respiratory issues."
According to the CDC, most sick pets only experienced minor
symptoms and recovered completely.
The CDC recommends calling your veterinarian to discuss the best
treatment options if your pet has been infected with the virus.
More research and studies are needed to understand better other
animals susceptible to the virus and the possibility of animal-to-human
transmission.
According to Lyndsay Cole , Assistant Director Of Public Affairs
At APHIS, the USDA has received funding to answer many questions about COVID-19
in animals.
According to Cole, USDA researchers are still attempting to figure
out how the virus acts in different animals and what they can do to break the
chain of transmission.
According to Kuchipudi, following general COVID-19 guidelines,
such as masking, isolating if exposed, and getting vaccinated against COVID-19,
is the best strategy to manage and prevent spread from humans to other animals.
"Everyone must do their part to stop the virus from spreading," Kuchipudi said. "Get vaccinated and take the other precautions that are necessary not only for other humans, but also for animals and the environment that we love."