SARS-CoV-2 in Animals-Evolution and Associated Risks

Authors: Ciornei SG*

DOI: 10.23880/oajvsr-16000196

Volume 5, Issue 1

Abstract

It is emphasized that the medical staff is subject to a maximum risk, and so it is. Due to permanent contact with potentially contaminated patients, carriers may be infected or carry the virus. In this context, it is highlighted that veterinarians may have a high risk of infection. In the world literature, and international epizootic forums, it reports and publishes information on the presence of COVID19 in animals. Some animals have been confirmed with this virus, generally pets that come from families where there have been several carrier members. Pets that tested positive showed clinical signs of dyspnea, fever, impaired general condition, difficulty breathing. The International Office of Epizootics cites a few scattered cases in which they tested positive in laboratory tests, but their study led to some findings essential for understanding the epidemiology of the new disease. Obviously, in the case of dogs and cats found positive, the SARS-CoV-2 infection was linked to the situation of the owners, who were also positive. The thorough investigations revealed that in fact dogs and cats had not been the source of infection of the owners, but, they contracted the infection from their owners. And more clearly, it was not humans who turned out to be victims of animals, but vice versa. Among pets, cats and ferrets are the most blamed, they were also present in clinical manifestations and may possibly transmit the disease to other cats. Dogs don’t seem to be as sensitive. Veterinary medicine is in this situation caught in the middle: on the one hand it is obliged to investigate the possible source of animal infection, using its own and specific means of investigation, but on the other hand it has the professional duty to defend the innocence of some animal species, unjustly suspected and possibly incriminated. Let’s not forget that Covid 19 is a syndrome not a specific disease, and therefore clinical confusions are not impossible.

Keywords: Animal Health; COVID-19; Cured or Denied; Veterinary Association

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