In this small town, a cat contracted an extremely rare virus, which had only been identified once in history, on a Caucasian bat. The mayor immediately took action, and even the Ministry of Health is mobilized.
This is the story of a small domestic feline that sows panic in a town of 100,000 inhabitants and attracts the attention of the entire transalpine press. The cat in question lived in the town of Arezzo, in Tuscany, and, as the Roman daily explains The Republic, he had a rather tormented end of life. “On June 12, the family owner of the animal, a two-year-old cat, returned home after two days outside Arezzo. The feline became very aggressive and bit three family members. He was then taken to a veterinarian who was also attacked. ”
Surprised, man believes to identify symptoms resembling a disease in animals “That he only studied in books” : rabies. It sends the cat to a structure specialized in neurological problems, where the animal dies. A part of his brain is nevertheless transferred to an institute in Padua, in the north of Italy, where additional analyzes are carried out. Verdict: the animal is positive for a type of Lyssavirus, similar to that which causes rabies. An extremely rare virus, increases Daily fact, “Since it was identified only once in history, in a Caucasian bat, in 2002”.
From a medical point of view, the incident was taken very seriously since all the people who were bitten or came into contact with the cat – 13 in all – were subjected to preventive treatment. “The possibility that these people have contracted the disease is considered very slim, but it is better not to take any risks”, abstract The Republic.
Animal containment
Caution should be exercised on all floors, since the mayor of Arezzo considered that it was necessary to take drastic measures. “He decided that all the animals belonging to the family (a dog, a cat, and three kittens) would be sequestered, precise Daily fact. In addition, from June 28 to August 27, dogs can only move on a leash in the town, failing which, they can also be sequestered. The mayor also invited residents to report to the municipal authorities any escape from their dogs or sudden change in behavior. ”
The case of the “cat of Arezzo” even went back to the top of the state, observes Daily fact, indicating that “The Ministry of Health has set up a technical and scientific group to examine this story”.
It remains to be understood how the feline in question initially contracted the Lyssavirus. The daily Corriere della Sera asked Canio Bonavoglia, a professor of infectious diseases in the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Bari, who is trying to reconstruct the events:
It all probably started with a bat with Lyssavirus, which fell to the ground, paralyzed by the disease. The cat approached her, was bitten and contracted the virus. ”
This is, according to the Corriere della Sera, “An exceptional, extremely rare case, with a chain of circumstances almost impossible to imagine”. Since rabies is not transmitted between humans, there is no need to worry. Canio Bonavoglia even concludes ironically:
The probability of a bat virus passing to pets is a bit like winning the lottery. ”
Beniamino Morante
–
