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Like pretty much any other document during this dynamic situation, it gets outdated as soon as we finish it (the original version was released more than a month ago), but it’s a good outline of what we know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
I debated writing more about the two pet cats from New York that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 that I wrote about on the weekend. I was surprised how little attention the initial report got, but now that the USDA has issued a report confirming the cats’ test results, the story is getting picked up
This one seems largely to have slipped under the radar: an OIE report indicates that a lion at the Bronx Zoo in New York has also tested positive for COVID-19. This follows the earlier report of a positive tiger at the Bronx Zoo that was presumably infected by a staff member. At the
The hunt for the intermediate host for SARS-CoV-2 continues. It’s pretty universally accepted (the odd conspiracy theorist aside) that this virus, like SARS and MERS, originated in bats. How it made it to people is an important question we’d like to answer to help understand this virus and future risks.
Figuring that out is challenging
Last night ProMed mail posted a brief report about two cats infected with SARS-CoV-2 in New York. It doesn’t give much detail:
“Two cats reportedly tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in New York. Both had owners who were COVID-19 positive, and both animals were reportedly exhibiting respiratory signs. Additional samples are [reportedly] being sent
Let’s just call this an “odds and ends” post. I’ll outline some interesting highlights from some recent papers, including a couple just posted overnight.
More on predicted susceptible hosts (pre-print (i.e. not peer reviewed) on BioRxiv)
This study looked at genomic data from 410 vertebrates, including 252 mammals, and the researchers ranked the different animal
