Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Image : Ferrets and a cat. By Bored Panda.
According to research experts from Harbin Veterinary Research Institute (HVRI), National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention (NIVDCP) and National High Containment Laboratory for Animal Diseases Control and Prevention led by Shi Jianzhong, ferrets and cats are highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 (covi, in short) while dogs have weak reaction to the virus.
The experts based their conclusions on research experiments at the Harbin P4 laboratory facilities at HVRI of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, which were approved for such use by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China. These findings are published in the Science journal report "Susceptibility of ferrets, cats, dogs, and other domesticated animals to SARS-coronavirus 2" (https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/04/07/science.abb7015?rss=1).
Ferrets are traditional animals used in the study of pathogenesis in relation to the study of diseases like influenza and H1N1. Recently the veterinary experts above have used ferrets in the study of covi infection. These animals are kept as pets in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the European Union.
The covi viruses for the experiments on ferrets are isolated from an environmental sample collected in the Wuhan Huanan Seafood Market and from a human patient. The experts did not specify which environmental sample (which animal from the seafood wholesale market) was collected. It shows that the wild animals removed from Wuhan Huanan Seafood Market were stored in Wuhan Insitute of Virology with possibly few animals shipped to HVRI for the study before the market was closed.
Two pairs of ferrets were used in the experiment studies. The experts found that covi can replicate in the upper and lower respiratory tract of ferrets. Covi only replicates in the nasal turbinate, soft palate and tonsils of ferrets but they are not able to detect virus replication in other organs of these animals.
The experts have also done studies on the cats' reaction to covi. They collected feces from the kittens and checked for viral RNA in their organs after putting them to sleep. They found that covi can replicate efficiently in cats, with younger cats being more permissive and cats, adult or kittens can transmit the virus via the airborne route.
There have been reports of cats infected with covi from Wuhan, Hong Kong and Belgium. The experts suggest surveillance for covi in cats should be considered "as an adjunct to elimination of COVID-19 in humans".
The experts tested covi on pups and livestock such as pigs, ducks and chicken.
Oropharyngeal and rectal swabs from each five-month-old dog. One of the dogs was diagnosed weak positive by its rectal swab but not the other. The virus was not detected in any organs or tissues collected from the dog.
The experts collected swabs from the virus-inoculated livestock. They were all diagnosed negative with covi. These results prove that pigs, chickens and ducks are not susceptible to the virus.
The researchers only study the behaviour of covi in the domesticated animals but does not conclude ferrets or cats are the reservoirs for COVID-19 infection in humans.
World Health Organization (WHO) and veterinarians in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia have said covid patients infect the cats with the disease through close contact rather than the other way round.
The intermediate host of covi is still unknown.
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Image : Ferrets and a cat. By Bored Panda.
According to research experts from Harbin Veterinary Research Institute (HVRI), National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention (NIVDCP) and National High Containment Laboratory for Animal Diseases Control and Prevention led by Shi Jianzhong, ferrets and cats are highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 (covi, in short) while dogs have weak reaction to the virus.
The experts based their conclusions on research experiments at the Harbin P4 laboratory facilities at HVRI of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, which were approved for such use by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China. These findings are published in the Science journal report "Susceptibility of ferrets, cats, dogs, and other domesticated animals to SARS-coronavirus 2" (https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/04/07/science.abb7015?rss=1).
Ferrets are traditional animals used in the study of pathogenesis in relation to the study of diseases like influenza and H1N1. Recently the veterinary experts above have used ferrets in the study of covi infection. These animals are kept as pets in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the European Union.
The covi viruses for the experiments on ferrets are isolated from an environmental sample collected in the Wuhan Huanan Seafood Market and from a human patient. The experts did not specify which environmental sample (which animal from the seafood wholesale market) was collected. It shows that the wild animals removed from Wuhan Huanan Seafood Market were stored in Wuhan Insitute of Virology with possibly few animals shipped to HVRI for the study before the market was closed.
Two pairs of ferrets were used in the experiment studies. The experts found that covi can replicate in the upper and lower respiratory tract of ferrets. Covi only replicates in the nasal turbinate, soft palate and tonsils of ferrets but they are not able to detect virus replication in other organs of these animals.
The experts have also done studies on the cats' reaction to covi. They collected feces from the kittens and checked for viral RNA in their organs after putting them to sleep. They found that covi can replicate efficiently in cats, with younger cats being more permissive and cats, adult or kittens can transmit the virus via the airborne route.
There have been reports of cats infected with covi from Wuhan, Hong Kong and Belgium. The experts suggest surveillance for covi in cats should be considered "as an adjunct to elimination of COVID-19 in humans".
The experts tested covi on pups and livestock such as pigs, ducks and chicken.
Oropharyngeal and rectal swabs from each five-month-old dog. One of the dogs was diagnosed weak positive by its rectal swab but not the other. The virus was not detected in any organs or tissues collected from the dog.
The experts collected swabs from the virus-inoculated livestock. They were all diagnosed negative with covi. These results prove that pigs, chickens and ducks are not susceptible to the virus.
The researchers only study the behaviour of covi in the domesticated animals but does not conclude ferrets or cats are the reservoirs for COVID-19 infection in humans.
World Health Organization (WHO) and veterinarians in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia have said covid patients infect the cats with the disease through close contact rather than the other way round.
The intermediate host of covi is still unknown.
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