The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed the possibility of human transmission of COVID-19 to dogs, cats, tigers, lions, minks and raccoon dogs, Melita Vujnovich, WHO representative in Russia, said on April 5.
“The COVID-19 virus spreads mainly through human-to-human transmission, but there is evidence of human-to-animal transmission as it is a zoonotic virus. The intermediate owner has not yet been identified, “RIA Novosti quotes Vuinovich.
According to Vujnovic, several tests conducted on animals after contact with infected people have tested positive for COVID-19.
“The process of studying the effect of the virus on other species of animals is underway,” she said.
The WHO spokesperson added that it is necessary to understand which species of animals are most susceptible to the virus, “in order to find other potential animal reservoirs and avoid repeated outbreaks in the future.”
At the end of March, the Deputy Head of the Rosselkhoznadzor Konstantin Savenkov recalled that in 2020, massive detections of COVID-19 were recorded at fur farms, in particular, in Denmark. Then the authorities of the country decided on the mass destruction of sick animals.
In Russia, the facts of infection of cats in Moscow and Tyumen have been officially established. In mid-January, the first in Russia genetic study of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, detected in a domestic cat, was carried out in St. Petersburg.
Savenkov, however, noted that there is no scientific evidence of the transmission of coronavirus from animals to humans.
On March 31, the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine for animals, Karnivak-Kov, was registered in Russia.