Thailand reports world's first case of 'cat-to-human' coronavirus transmission
【Operation "epidemic" in international war】
Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, June 30 (Reporter Liu Xia) According to a report on the website of the British "Nature" magazine on the 29th, Thai scientists reported the first conclusive evidence that a tabby cat "sneezed" to infect a veterinarian with the new coronavirus. This puts felines on the list of animals that can transmit the new coronavirus to humans, but researchers say cases of such cat-to-human transmission are likely to be rare.
The study was published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The co-author of the latest research paper, Sarunyu Chusri of Prince of Songkla University, explained that in August 2021, after a father and son contracted the new coronavirus, their cat was sent to a pet hospital for isolation.
A veterinarian was sampling a cat when the cat sneezed in the face of the veterinarian who was wearing a mask and gloves but not goggles.
About 3 days after sampling the cat, the veterinarian developed symptoms such as coughing and runny nose, tested positive for the new coronavirus, and subsequently tested positive for the cat.
None of the veterinarian's close contacts had contracted the virus, suggesting that the cat had passed it on to him.
Moreover, the test results confirmed that the genome of the new coronavirus infected by the veterinarian is the same as that of the cat.
With the magnitude of the pandemic, the spread of the virus between species, and the close contact between cats and humans, why did it take scientists so long to identify cases of "cat-to-human" coronavirus transmission?
In the early days of the new crown epidemic, scientists discovered that cats secrete infectious virus particles that can infect other cats.
During the epidemic, dozens of pet cats have been reported to be infected with the new crown virus in various countries, but it is difficult to determine whether the transmission direction of the virus is from cats to people or from people to cats.
Researchers say cases of "cat-to-human transmission" of the new coronavirus may be rare.
Studies have shown that cats infected with the new coronavirus do not secrete much virus, only for a few days.
Animals have yet to play an important role in the spread of the new coronavirus, and "humans are clearly still the main source of transmission of the virus."