Residents of various shelters, as well as mouse catchers from Covid-19 positive households where people were infected, were mainly studied. 130 cats have been tested so far.
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Three samples are taken from each cat – a swab from the throat looking for the Covid-19 agent, a faecal sample as the virus passes through the intestinal tract, and blood to detect antibodies.
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Gundega Mūrniece, a doctoral student at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Latvia University of Agriculture, says that she has managed to conclude that there are several cats that have developed antibodies to the Sars Covid-2 or Covid-19 agent.
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“This means that these cats have been in contact with the virus and that the cats are developing an immune response. The presence of antibodies indicates that the cat is more likely to have Covid-19,” she explains.
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Professor Kaspars Kovaļenko, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Latvia University of Agriculture, notes that it is likely that cats secrete the virus for a very short time, because even in cases where contact with the infected person has been very close Cov-2 RNA in feline respiratory samples.
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“In some cases, antibodies have been detected, but for the most part the infection is self-limiting, so the cat has the following clinical signs for 2-3 days, and then the animal recovers fairly quickly,” he says.
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Researchers say there is a risk that cats could become so-called infectious reservoir animals.
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“If a cat is positive and has already acquired the virus, and the virus has adapted to that particular cat, then when it enters a shelter with several animals, the virus can start circulating among shelter animals and potentially develop in some cases as a new virus in cats. And, of course, this danger that back this virus may return from the cat population. Much like it is with mink, but mink, as we know, are more susceptible than cats, “Kovalenko continues.
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All susceptible animal species should be tested according to the recommendations of the World Organization for Animal Health. It is not yet known whether other animals will be tested. Studies around the world show that pigs and cattle, for example, are susceptible to Sars Cov-2.
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