COVID 19 and animals INTERESTING TIDBITS
• The SARS-COV2 likely originated in bats and is one of many zoonotic diseases (animal diseases which cross over into the human population). Other wellknown zoonoses are rabies, leptospirosis, tuberculosis and anthrax.
• Many coronaviruses had been identified in dogs, horses, cats and pigs long before the first case of a human coronavirus was noted. They cause commonly treated diseases in veterinary medicine; however, most are not a threat to humans.
APPLICATIONS FROM VETERINARY MEDICINE
• Remdesivir, one of the drugs currently being used to treat COVID-19, was adapted from GS441524, which was being used in veterinary medicine to treat another coronavirus causing life-threatening feline infectious peritonitis in cats.
• Ivermectin, another drug being used in some instances to treat and prevent severe cases of COVID-19, is a widely used veterinary drug – with applications for canine heartworm prevention, treatment of gastrointestinal worms and other internal and external parasites.
• Vaccines for coronaviral diseases in animals (e.g. infectious bronchitis in poultry and feline infectious peritonitis in cats) have not had overwhelming success due to the evolution of variants; however, vaccines do provide some protection in these animals.
ANIMALS TO THE RESCUE
• Special camelid (eg llamas and alpacas) antibodies, called nanobodies, have been researched as a potential treatment modality for COVID-19, due to their smaller size and ease of delivery directly to the airways.
• Dogs are being used to detect COVID-19 infected humans. Because of their keen sense of smell, they are able to distinguish the organic compounds in a person’s sweat that indicate the presence of the virus. Scent dogs have also been used in the past to detect some forms of lung cancer.
• Pets have been a lifeline in helping persons cope during the pandemic and preserving mental and physical health.
KEEPING ANIMALS SAFE
• Although in rare circumstances animals have become infected with COVID-19 from infected humans, there is still no evidence at this time that common domestic animal species play a part in the current transmission of COVID-19 to humans. If you do become infected with COVID-19, however, please avoid contact with animals – pets, livestock and wildlife.
• If your pet becomes sick with respiratory signs, please call your nearest vet. Although, the risk of COVID-19 to them is very small, there are many other respiratory illnesses affecting pets that would require treatment.