Cats are susceptible to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), researchers from the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute concluded in their study.
The study, which was published at the website of Journal, suggests that felines can contract the virus and pass it to other cats.
“Cats and dogs are in close contact with humans, and therefore it is important to understand their susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 for COVID-19 control,” the authors wrote.
But pet owners need not worry according to researchers as the results are based on lab experiments that deliberately exposed cats to high concentrations of the virus.
Furthermore, there is no direct evidence that cats can transmit the virus to humans.
According to a report from Reuters, the researchers found that animals such as dogs, chickens, pigs, and ducks are not likely to catch the virus.
The study was aimed at identifying which animals are vulnerable to the virus so they can be used to test experimental vaccines to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 83,000 people worldwide since it emerged in China in December.
“It’s both interesting and not terribly surprising in the sense that with the original SARS epidemic, civet cats were implicated as one of the vectors that may have transmitted virus to humans,” Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital infectious diseases head Daniel Kuritzkes told Reuters
“What these data do provide is support for the recommendation that people who are with COVID-19 should be distancing themselves, not only from other household members but also from their household pets, so as not to transmit the virus to their pets, particularly to cats or other felines,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said it will work closely with its partners to study the role of pets in the spread of the virus.
