Study: Pet Dogs and Cats Vulnerable to COVID-19

Most infected pets tend to be asymptomatic or exhibit mild COVID-19 symptoms.

Researchers from the University of Utrecht sent mobile veterinary clinics to households in the Netherlands that had tested positive for COVID-19, at some point in the last 200 days.

PCR tests were taken from domesticated cats and dogs to test for evidence of current infection, while blood samples were also tested for antibodies indicating previous COVID-19 exposure.

Results presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases showed 4.2% evidence of current infection, 17.4% tested positive for antibodies, and follow-up tests showed all recovered PCR-positive animals continued to develop antibodies.

They say the most likely route of transmission of the virus is from humans to animals — not the other way around.

“We can’t say there is a zero percent risk of owners catching COVID-19 from their pets,” said Dr Broens, a veterinarian at the Center for Diagnostic Microbiology.

“Right now, the pandemic is still being driven by human-to-human infection, so we won’t detect it.”

Veterinarians in Russia have started vaccinating some animals against COVID-19. But, Dr Broens says, “I don’t see any scientific evidence for that right now.”

“It seems unlikely that pets have played a role in this pandemic.”

A separate study conducted by the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, found that cats sleeping in their owners’ beds appeared to be at particular risk of infection.

A total of 48 cats and 54 dogs from 77 households were tested for COVID-19 antibodies and their owners asked about their interactions with their pets.

About 67% of owned cats and 43% of owned dogs tested positive, compared to 9% of dogs and cats from animal shelters and 3% of stray cats in the area.

A quarter of pets show symptoms of illness, ranging from loss of appetite to difficulty breathing.

Although most cases show only mild symptoms, three of them are severe.

The study’s authors said the cat’s biology could make them more susceptible to the virus.

Cats are also more likely to sleep near their owners’ faces than dogs, increasing their potential for exposure to any infection.

Reporter: Paquita Gadin

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