"Cat COVID-19 Infection Rate 15%... Social Distancing Needed in Households with Confirmed Cases"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] A study has found that the probability of cats being infected with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) could be as high as 15%, which is higher than previously known.

According to the British Daily Express on the 10th (local time), researchers from Huazhong Agricultural University in China conducted blood tests on 102 cats in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, where COVID-19 was first reported, from January to March this year. They found COVID-19 antibodies in 15 cats (14.7%). Among these, 11 cats had neutralizing antibodies against the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19.

Antibodies and neutralizing antibodies are formed after viral infection and are used as indicators to confirm infection status. This research paper was published in the international academic journal "New Microbes and Infections."

The researchers stated that these cats were either stray wild cats or cats from shelters, veterinary clinics, or households, and none of them showed symptoms or died. Additionally, the three cats with the highest antibody levels were all confirmed to have been raised by COVID-19 patients.

Based on this, the researchers believe that when humans are infected with COVID-19, it is necessary to maintain an appropriate distance from companion animals such as cats, and they emphasized that hygiene and quarantine measures for high-risk animals should also be established. However, the researchers added that this study does not fully prove the possibility of COVID-19 transmission between humans and cats, and more extensive research is still needed.

Earlier, on the 1st, U.S. authorities reported that only 17 cats had been infected with COVID-19, but the researchers concluded that the actual infection rate among cats is likely higher.

Dr. Jin Meilin, who led the study, said that further research is needed to determine how eight cats living in animal shelters and veterinary hospitals were infected. She judged that it is highly likely that these cats were infected in environments exposed to SARS-CoV-2 or from COVID-19 patients who fed them. She also noted that since the immune responses of humans and cats to coronaviruses are similar, studying cats with SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies could help understand the human immune response to the virus.