PS Are pets a virus threat?

Researchers call for widespread animal testing to avoid outbreak

PETS could accelerate the spread of coronavirus, experts warn.

Researchers from University College London admitted that evidence around animal to human transmission is sketchy.

But they said a global effort is needed to reduce the risk of the virus getting out of control via animal transmission.

Professor Joanne Santini, one of the study authors, said: ‘We need to develop surveillance strategies to ensure we don’t get taken by surprise by a large outbreak in animals, which could pose a threat not just to animal health but to human health as well.

‘There is increasing evidence that some animals can catch SARSCoV-2 from people, and might subsequently transmit it to other people – but we don’t know just how much of a risk this is, as it’s an area of study that has not yet been prioritised. Virus transmission in animal populations could become irreversible if left unchecked, and may threaten the success of existing public health measures if people continue to catch the virus from an infected population of animals.’

The authors said that the scale of the pandemic mean animals could become ‘reservoirs’ of the virus. In March, the British Veterinary Association suggested cat owners who had coronavirus symptoms should keep their pets indoors – to stop them passing it to other cats.

But the authors of the new Lancet Microbe piece said there is now more evidence suggesting animals can pass it to humans. They cited cases in the Netherlands of farmed mink becoming infected with the virus, leading to two people catching it. Co-author Professor Sarah Edwards said: ‘There’s an urgent need for widespread surveillance, by testing samples, preferably non-invasively, from large numbers of animals, particularly pets, livestock and wildlife that are in close proximity to human populations.

‘We need more information, at the same time as taking simple precautionary measures especially with species which have the potential to spread the virus rapidly in the wild.’