COVID-19, Your Pet and Other Animals: Are You at Risk?

COVID-19, Your Pet and Other Animals: Are You at Risk? MEDICC Rev. 2020 Oct;22(4):81-82 Authors: Irian M Abstract Despite fast-tracked research, the precise origin, transmission and evolution of COVID-19 are still unknown. While the bat genus Rhinolophus is likely the primary source of the zoonotic-origin pathogen SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19, its transmission route into the human population is still being studied.[1,2] Coronaviruses (CoV) affect humans and various animal species. Bats were the original hosts of the CoV that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), for example, with masked palm civet cats and dromedaries, respectively, the intermediate hosts of those two viruses. Research is ongoing regarding intermediate species for SARS-CoV-2, but one possibility is the large stray cat and dog population around the live animal market in Wuhan, China, where the pandemic is thought to have started. PMID: 33295324 [PubMed - in process]
Source: MEDICC Review - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: MEDICC Rev Source Type: research