Can pets also catch and spread the new coronavirus?
Pets are also at risk of transmission
I can't imagine that the new crown pandemic is already in its third year. Since coronaviruses are RNA viruses, they lack the ability to proofread genes when replicating, so they mutate very quickly.
At the same time, because viruses need to coexist with the host, which is in contradiction with their "toxicity", when the virus's ability to spread becomes stronger, it often means that they will become less deadly.
The current popular strain, Omicron, has many times stronger transmission ability than all previous strains. This is one of the main reasons why this wave of epidemics is difficult to control, but in fact, its toxicity is not too strong. , especially for those who have received more than three shots, Omicron is no different from a more powerful flu virus.
Due to the very rapid spread of Omicron, the nucleic acid of all staff is the norm in this wave of epidemics.
Because of this, sometimes we can see people wearing masks for their pets, or taking them to do nucleic acid together, and some areas even require pets to do nucleic acid too.
The first time I saw someone make nucleic acid for sheep. At that time, many people thought it was a big deal, but it is still relatively common to make nucleic acid for pet dogs and animals in zoos.
So the question is, can pets infect and spread the new coronavirus?
First of all, let me make it clear that most authorities now believe that the possibility of pets spreading the new crown is very low.
But in fact, our pets are not only at risk of contracting the new crown, but also the possibility of spreading the new crown, but the probability is very small.
Can pets be infected with the new crown?
Although the new coronavirus is thought to be transmitted from animals to humans, viral attacks are often very specific, and it is difficult for them to attack different species at the same time, especially when the differences between different species are very large.
For example, the new coronavirus this time, after they adhere to the human mucosal cells, will enter the cell through a cell surface receptor called angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2).
As different species, they are not necessarily mucosal cells, let alone contain ACE2 receptors, and even if they contain ACE2 receptors, their amino acid residues will vary greatly.
The spike protein of the new coronavirus needs to combine with 24 amino acid residues in human ACE2 to complete the invasion, and species with similar amino acid residues will be susceptible hosts.
Unfortunately, the ACE2 receptors in dogs and cats are more than 50% similar to humans, so they do have the potential to be infected by the new crown.
In fact, since the outbreak of the new crown, there have been countless cases of cats and dogs, and some infected pets also develop respiratory tracts, and they also show human-like symptoms such as fever and cough.
But the good news is that some other infected pets will not have any symptoms, and those with symptoms are relatively mild and can recover on their own, and there is basically no serious illness.
In addition, a study in June 2021 showed that cats are at a much greater risk of infection than pet dogs. In serum samples collected from cats, 14.7% detected RNA for the new coronavirus, or positive, but 10.8% % contains virus neutralizing antibodies, it can only be said that the lethality of the new coronavirus to pets is indeed very weak.
Perhaps because of this, the risk of pets spreading COVID-19 is considered low and no special treatment is necessary.
But we can't let down all our defenses because of this, after all, viruses can survive for a long time outside the body.
Transmission risk from pets?
Most of the time, pets infected with the new crown have very close contact with infected humans, so I think if pets have a positive nucleic acid test, then they can transmit the virus.
First of all, the new coronavirus does not necessarily need to survive inside the cell, they can survive for a long time outside the body, so the express packages we receive now often have sterilized labels.
It has been previously reported that the new coronavirus is more tenacious than ordinary flu viruses, and can survive for 9 hours on human skin surfaces (such as palms).
Of course, the fur of pets may also carry the new coronavirus, and it is estimated that the survival time will not be too short. During the survival of the virus, they may be transmitted to contacts.
Secondly, pets infected with the new crown virus will also sneeze, so there must be some viruses sprayed into the air, and our current main transmission methods are similar.
Therefore, pets must have the risk of transmission, but it may be relatively low. Those friends who do nucleic acid for pets and the areas where they do nucleic acid for pets are not making a fuss.
About the Creator
adalberto alejandrina
scientific exploration
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