London (AFP)

People with Covid-19 can transmit the disease to their cats and dogs, a study released Friday shows.

The new coronavirus is a zoonosis, an infectious disease passed from animals to humans.

While it appears that pets don't play a major role in its spread, a growing body of data shows that cats, dogs, and even tigers can catch it.

In a new study, which will be presented in congress but has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal, Canadian veterinary scientists have tested the pets of people infected with the coronavirus or exhibiting symptoms consistent with the Covid -19.

In a first group, whose diagnosis was less than two weeks old, they looked for the presence of the virus (PCR test) in 17 cats, 18 dogs and one ferret.

All the tests came out negative except one, the result of which was questionable.

On the other hand, in a second group of eight cats and ten dogs, where the owners' diagnosis was older, serological tests revealed the presence of IgG antibodies (sign of an old infection) in four cats and two dogs. , and IgM antibodies (a sign of a more recent infection) in three cats.

All the cats carrying the antibodies as well as one of the two dogs had shown signs of illness, particularly respiratory illness, at the same time as their owners.

"Even if the number of participants was limited (...), these preliminary results suggest that a significant proportion of domestic animals living with people affected by Covid-19 develop antibodies", explains Dorothee Bienzle, professor at the '' University of Guelph (Ontario)

The sample is too small to draw any conclusions, however, and pet owners need not worry, say experts who were not involved in the study.

It will be presented next week at the Covid-19 conference organized by the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID).

There is not enough data to recommend that people with Covid-19 isolate themselves from their animals, judge Sally Cutler, professor of medical microbiology at the University of East London, who recalls that "animals can be a source of comfort for humans, especially when they are sick ".

While several cats and dogs, and even a tiger at a New York zoo, have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent months, it is not known whether these infected animals can represent a risk to humans, notes the World Organization of health (WHO).

However, epidemic outbreaks in mink farms have raised concerns about a possible transmission of these animals to humans.

© 2020 AFP