A pet cat is the initially animal in the United Kingdom confirmed to have been infected with the new coronavirus, wellness officers explained.
The cat’s test results ended up verified previous week at a lab in Weybridge in South East England, Christine Middlemiss, the U.K.’s main veterinary officer, said in a statement Monday.
Middlemiss reported the cat experienced gentle signs or symptoms and has due to the fact recovered. Officers believe that the cat’s operator, who was also sick with COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, transmitted the virus to their pet.
“There is no evidence to advise that pets specifically transmit the virus to human beings. We will keep on to keep track of this scenario closely and will update our steering to pet house owners should the situation alter,” Middlemiss mentioned in a assertion.
Even though it was the to start with confirmed case of an animal an infection in the U.K., animals in other elements of the planet have also been infected with SARS-CoV-2.
In early April, a tiger at the Bronx Zoo was the 1st animal in the United States to test positive for COVID-19 just after just one of its caretakers was believed to have transmitted the virus to the animal.
Two cats in New York were being the first pets in the United States to exam constructive just after suffering from minor respiratory symptoms. The animals were being from individual spots, and health and fitness officers think human beings contaminated the two of them.
In accordance to the U.S. Centers for Sickness Management and Prevention, puppies, cats and some other animals can be contaminated with the new virus, but wellbeing officials do not know how several animals can be infected and extra analysis is wanted on how it spreads between animals.
Scientists are even now investigating the origin of the new virus, too, but some think the virus originated in bats and then jumped to an middleman species prior to spreading to human beings at an animal market in Wuhan, China.
Continue to, the CDC claims, “the hazard of animals spreading COVID-19 to people is regarded as to be reduced,” and the primary way the virus spreads is from individual to person through respiratory droplets.
The CDC does not advise testing your pet for COVID-19 at this time, but it suggests that folks unwell with COVID-19 really should address their pets like folks and restrict get in touch with with them if attainable. Similarly, pet homeowners need to restrict the speak to they allow for their pets to have with men and women outdoors of their households.
In Might, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine also located that cats can transmit the coronavirus to other cats.
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