I keep saying I’m going to stop talking about sporadic new SARS-CoV-2 infections in animals unless there’s something noteworthy. I’ll mention some recent cases in a dog and some cats in the Netherlands because I think there are some unique aspects that fit that bill.
Infected dog
This infected dog was euthanized on account of
Since we’re entering kitten season, there will be lots of animals in shelters needing homes. I’ve done a couple of virtual talks for shelter groups this week, with a focus on implementing physical distancing and other preventive measures, while maintaining as much of a semblance of normal shelter operations as possible.
I’ve also had quite
Nothing too remarkable to report, but here are a few recent developments.
Dogs
Details about the first two SARS-CoV-2-positive dogs in Hong Kong have been published in Nature. We’ve previously heard most of the information before, but here’s a quick summary:
Cats are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. That’s been shown experimentally and in a limited number of documented natural infections. However, there’s still a lot we need to know to better understand the feline and human health implications of this virus. While limitations of experimental studies always have to be considered (since they’re based on an artificial
Pretty soon, I’ll stop writing about single reports of cats identified as infected with SARS-CoV-2. These cases aren’t surprising, and sporadic case reports don’t provide much new information. However, I’ll give a quick rundown of the latest case of an infected cat from Spain. It’s only reported in news articles, as far as I
An update to the Canadian COVID-19 in animals FAQ for veterinarians (30-Apr-2020) has been released.
Like pretty much any other document during this dynamic situation, it gets outdated as soon as we finish it (the original version was released more than a month ago), but it’s a good outline of what we know
A few quick updates and comments.
Are pugs a high risk breed for SARS-CoV-2?
This question has come up a few times since the report of an infected pug in North Carolina. It has been suggested by some people in news articles that pugs are higher risk for getting infected. Like other brachycephalic (squishy
How to practice veterinary medicine in a COVID-19 world is causing a lot of angst. Questions about dental procedures often top the list. Rightly so, since those are perhaps the highest risk type of procedure for SARS-CoV-2 exposure from animals. Dentistry involves close contact with the face and respiratory secretions, and the potential generation of
I’ve written a few times about how I’m both utterly impressed and completely horrified about the state of scientific publishing around COVID-19. We’re getting some exceptional research in astounding short periods of time. We’re also seeing poor quality research, lax peer and editorial review and sometimes more of a rush to be first than
Newton’s third law is “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
COVID-19’s first law is “For many actions, there’s a big over-reaction.”
Careful communication is important to limit the impact of COVID-19’s first law. However, some over-reaction is still going to occur.
One of the big concerns about
