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Japan-US joint study: Coronavirus spreads easily between cats.

By on May 15, 2020

A joint study by Professor Kawaoka Yoshihiro of the University of Tokyo and Associate Professor Peter Halfmann of the University of Wisconsin Madison led to a discovery that cats are not immune to the novel coronavirus.

The study, triggered by two domesticated cats that tested positive in the US along with cases in Belgium and Hongkong, was published in The New England Journal of Medicine on May 13.  The research finds coronavirus can easily transmit between cats.

After samples were taken from three cats, researchers found that the virus increased in the respiratory organ when inoculated (to raise their immunity against diseases) through the nasal cavity.

The following day, a cat with no previous SARS-CoV-2 infection was put together with each of the inoculated cats to evaluate if transmission of the virus by direct contact would happen between the cats. Virus was detected from two of the inoculated cats. By the third day, all 3 inoculated cats had the virus. The virus was continuously detected in all cats until day 5 and two of the three cats on day 6.

The felines did not have any abnormal body temperature, substantial weight loss or other related symptoms. Researchers said “Cats may be a silent intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2  because infected cats may not show any appreciable symptoms that might be recognized by their owners.”

Professor Kawaoka cautions people that the study “does not conclude the virus can be transmitted from cats to humans.” The researchers, however, said there was a need to further investigate the potential chain of human-cat-human transmission.

This finding is an important reminder for families with cats to not let their feline pets go outdoors given the potential for SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

 

 

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