Songkhla University research paper… ‘Cat owner → cat → veterinarian’ infection estimated
“Cat-to-human transmission is rare, but caution is required”
This is the first study to support the hypothesis that cats infected with COVID-19 can transmit the virus to humans.
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 10th (local time), a research team at Songkhla University in Thailand announced on the 6th the result of a study that a local veterinarian was infected with the Corona 19 virus from a cat last year.
According to the thesis, a father and son living in Bangkok tested positive for COVID-19 in August of last year and were admitted to a hospital in Songkhla, and the cat they brought with them was sent to a veterinary hospital for testing.
Later, while the veterinarian was taking a sample from the cat, the cat sneezed into the veterinarian’s face, which had no face shield.
The veterinarian, a 32-year-old woman, was wearing a mask and gloves at the time.
As a result of the confirmation, Corona 19 virus was found in the cat sample, and the veterinarian also showed symptoms of Corona 19 three days following contact with the cat and was confirmed.
The fact that the veterinarian had no close contact with anyone infected with COVID-19 and had no contact with cat owners supports the hypothesis that the veterinarian was infected with the cat, the researchers analyzed.
In addition, genome sequencing (DNA sequencing) revealed that the cat and the three individuals were infected with the same virus during the delta mutation, which was different from samples from other patients at Songkhla Hospital at the time.
It has been reported several times that animals, including cats, also contract COVID-19, but this is the first time that a study has shown that cats transmit the Corona 19 virus to humans.
However, experts emphasize that the overall risk of cats infecting humans is low.
The research team said that the route of infection from cats to humans is not common, but advised owners of companion animals confirmed with COVID-19 or veterinarians who may come into contact with animals suspected of being infected should be cautious.
“I think it’s important to recognize that this virus can still migrate between different species,” said Scott Wiz, an infectious disease veterinarian at Guelph University in Canada.
This study was published in the July issue of ‘Emergent Infectious Diseases (EID)’, an international scientific journal issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
/yunhap news
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