A feminine Siamese cat has develop into the primary animal within the UK to catch coronavirus, prompting a warning to homeowners to not kiss their pets or share meals with them.
The cat from southern England is believed to have caught the virus from their proprietor in Might. It was initially recognized with feline herpes by a personal vet. However samples from the cat examined constructive for Sars-Cov-2 in June as a part of a coronavirus screening programme for tons of of cats at Glasgow Centre for Virus Analysis.
Observe-up samples examined on the Animal Plant Well being Laboratory in Weybridge final week confirmed the cat was additionally contaminated with Covid-19.
The six-year-old cat skilled solely gentle signs together with shortness of breath and nasal discharge and has since recovered. However Margaret Hosie, professor of comparative virology at Glasgow College, who leads the screening programme, suggested cat homeowners to “observe very cautious hygiene”.
She mentioned: “When you have any respiratory indicators, then be sure you catch your cough or sneeze right into a disposable tissue, and wash your arms earlier than you deal with your cat. Don’t kiss your cat. Don’t have the cat sleeping in a mattress with you, and don’t share meals with the cat.”
She expressed shock {that a} Siamese cat, a breed which has quick fur, caught the illness. “I assumed perhaps fluffier ones could be extra able to catch any sneezes or cough droplets. However you may’t draw any significance from that.”
She burdened that solely a handful of cats around the globe had examined constructive for coronavirus and there was no proof that the animals may transmit the illness to people.
Hosie mentioned: “We have been very eager to determine a UK [case] as a result of that permits us to work on understanding the transmission. It’s fairly a uncommon discovering. We’re all the time enthusiastic about zoonotic ailments – a illness that may be transmitted between people and animals – to see if there’s any evolution within the virus. As but our cat virus appears similar to all the opposite cat viruses which have been remoted throughout Europe, the US and Hong Kong. We now have received no proof that the virus has modified earlier than it might probably infect cats.”
In early April the British Veterinary Affiliation created panic amongst cat homeowners after its president, Daniella Dos Santos, appeared to counsel the UK’s estimated 10.9 million cats ought to be stored at residence throughout the pandemic.
After its web site crashed, the BVA was pressured to make clear that solely homeowners who have been self-isolating ought to maintain their pets indoors if potential, elevating the prospect of Larry the Downing Avenue cat having to enter isolation.
Dos Santos mentioned the constructive check shouldn’t trigger alarm. She mentioned: “It’s actually necessary that no one ought to panic. There have been a tiny handful of circumstances internationally the place pet animals have been contaminated with covid and there’s no proof that pets can cross on covid to their homeowners.”
She repeated the BVA recommendation that cat homeowners who’ve examined constructive for Covid-19 or have signs ought to maintain their cats indoors if potential.
Requested if No 10 ought to have set a greater instance by preserving Larry underneath lockdown when Boris Johnson was struggling with the virus, Dos Santos mentioned: “I don’t know Larry, however my recommendation would stay the identical you probably have examined covid constructive or [are] displaying indicators to maintain your cat indoors if potential. We don’t understand how a lot shut contact Larry had with the prime minister and cats ought to solely be stored indoors if they’re blissful to take action.”
The UK’s chief veterinary officer, Prof Christine Middlemiss, mentioned: “This can be a very uncommon occasion with contaminated animals detected so far solely displaying gentle scientific indicators and recovering inside a number of days.
“There is no such thing as a proof to counsel that pets immediately transmit the virus to people. We are going to proceed to observe this example carefully and can replace our steering to pet homeowners ought to the scenario change.”
Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Well being England, mentioned it was a reminder for folks to clean their arms after contact with animals. “That is the primary case of a home cat testing constructive for Covid-19 within the UK however shouldn’t be a trigger for alarm,” she mentioned.
“The investigation into this case counsel that the an infection was unfold from people to animal, and never the opposite approach spherical. At the moment, there isn’t any proof that pets can transmit the illness to people.”
A small variety of circumstances of animals contaminated with Covid-19 have been reported globally, together with numerous tigers and lions on the Bronx zoo in New York.
