After recognizing that it is estimated that more than half of human diseases come from animals, Ylenia Márquez Peña, an academic at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics (FMVZ) of the UNAM, asked not to demonize or seek false perpetrators, as stated has done with the bat and the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19.
He claimed that up to this time there is no evidence that humans can acquire the SARS-CoV-2 virus from companion animals such as dogs and cats. While he stated that a lot has been said about COVID-19 and pets but little is known because the corroboration is scarce and the investigations in progress, too many.
Why is it not likely?
While it is true that companion animals also get sick from coronavirusIn these cases, we are talking about varieties other than the one responsible for the current pandemic.
“We have, for example, CCov (or canine coronavirus), which causes symptoms of gastroenteritis or even a pandromic disease, or FCov (feline coronavirus), capable of leading to the very deadly feline infectious peritonitis.”
The member of the FMVZ Department of Medicine, Surgery and Animal Science for Small Species, elaborated: pathogens are examples of alphacoronaviruses, which have a distant lineage from sarbecoviruses, a group to which SARS-CoV-2 belongs. He added that this should make it clear that viruses that affect pets and humans are not alike, even though their name sounds the same to us.
He also mentioned that there are differences between hosts, because while SARS-CoV-2 enters human cells through the ACE2 receptor – spread in our body and used by that virus as a lock for which it has a key -, coronaviruses associated with dogs and cats use Aminopeptidase N as a gateway. Therefore, this makes a difference and explains why feline and canine diseases do not affect people, or vice versa.
However, the academic asked to take the latter with reservations, since there is a suspicion of infections in pets that have been in contact with individuals affected by COVID-19. Faced with this eventuality, there are teams of scientists analyzing the ACE2 receptors of animals, both companion and farm animals, in order to determine if SARS-CoV-2 can pass from humans to them.
“It seems that in animals there is a poor distribution of these receptors, those who have more are dogs and pigs. However, no conclusions need to be advanced, as there is still little evidence on these mechanisms, in addition to the fact that these are ongoing investigations, without official publication or peer review ”.
To do?
Faced with this interspecies contagion not yet clarified, Márquez Peña asked not to abandon pets on the street and adopt stricter hygiene measures, such as sanitizing common areas, preventing dogs and cats from coming into contact with our water or food and preventing them from leaving unsupervised house.
He also stressed that the most important thing is not to demonize or seek false perpetrators, as has been done with the bat and SARS-CoV-2, since it is estimated that more than half of human diseases come from animals and this is not rare. because we live with them, we feed on them and invade their homes. For the same reason, he said it happens that it is natural for that to happen.