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Dogs, Cats, Mink: A Dutch Menagerie

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    Posted: May 16 2020 at 7:22am

By Scott Weese on May 15, 2020


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 Dutch cases because I think there are some aspects that fit that bill.


Canine case


This one might be noteworthy because the dog was euthanized on account of severe respiratory disease. 

So far, it has appeared that dogs don’t get sick if they are infected.

Disease of any sort, let alone fatal disease, would be noteworthy in a dog.

One report said “The American bulldog’s blood tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, but the dog had tested negative for an active case of Covid-19.”

I assume that means it was PCR negative, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t infected. They added “It was thus unclear if the dog’s worsening condition was as a result of the infection, or due to other health issues.”  Hopefully more testing is being performed  to see if there were other problems that could have accounted for severe disease or whether COVID-19 might have been the cause.


Cats on a mink farm


During our national working group discussions of the outbreaks of COVID-19 in Dutch mink farms (now 5 affected farms), the question of whether there were other animals like barn cats was raised. The answer to that is apparently ‘yes’.


Three of 11 tested cats on the farms had antibodies against the virus, indicating they had been infected.

That obviously leads to questions about how they got it.

Part of that would be interviewing farm staff to see how much human contact they had, to get some idea whether contact with infected people or indirect contact with infected mink (droplets/aerosols from being in the affected barns, contact with virus-contaminated manure…) was the likely source.

That’s important and it highlights the importance of preventing exposure of animals and containing exposed/infected animals. We want to keep this contained to humans, not create opportunities for animals to pass it back to people or for animals to spread the virus to other domestic animals or wildlife.


 



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Dutch Josh View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 16 2020 at 7:58am

[url]https://nltimes.nl/2020/05/15/dutch-find-coronavirus-antibodies-first-dog-3-cats-risk-mink-farms[/url] ;

For the first time in the Netherlands, a dog was found to have been infected with the novel coronavirus. Three cats which lived on one of two mink farms where a coronavirus infection spread to animals last month also tested positive for the virus.

"The owner of the dog is a COVID-19 patient. The dog had breathing problems and was euthanized on April 30 because of worsening of the complaints," wrote Carola Schouten, the Minister of Agriculture, in a letter to Parliament on Friday. The American bulldog's blood tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, but the dog had tested negative for an active case of Covid-19. It was thus unclear if the dog's worsening condition was as a result of the infection, or due to other health issues.

While it was the first time a dog was found to have been infected with the novel coronavirus in the Netherlands, it was not the first case globally. There were earlier reports of infected dogs in Hong Kong, Schouten said.

According to the Agriculture Ministry, which sought to gain insights into the how the coronavirus affects animals, while the risk of catching Covid-19 from a pet remains very low, it is nonetheless advised that people do not kiss or cuddle their pets if they know that they, or the pet, is infected.

"Human-to-animal transmission is possible, but the impact of animal transmission on human health is negligible," the ministry stated, pointing out that it is human-to-human transmission that is responsible for spreading the Covid-19 disease. Nevertheless, the ministry affirmed the current advise from the RIVM: "avoid intensive contact with pets with Covid-19".

The RIVM maintains that the general advice in such a case would be to contact the veterinarian by telephone, especially if the animal has severe shortness of breath or diarrhea. Animals suspected of being infected with coronavirus should be reported to the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA).

CATS WITH ANTIBODIES FOUND ON INFECTED MINK FARMS

Three of eleven cats also tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, but gave a negative test for Covid-19, the minister said. They were "farm cats" that roamed around the first mink farm where a coronavirus infection was found in the mammals. 

A study carried out on the ministry's behalf found that the risk of Covid-19 transmission at two mink farms in Noord-Brabant, where the virus had previously been spotted, is effectively zero. The government has therefore opted to lift the 400-meter no-entry zone around the two infected farms, located in the towns of Gemert-Bakel and Laarbeek respectively.

Research at and around the two infected mink farms will continue in the coming weeks, the RIVM said. In total, five mink farms have recorded positive tests for a coronavirus infection. Three businesses operate the five farms, the Schouten said.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 16 2020 at 8:08am

Tabitha111-I think that Covid19 in animals needs a major lot of attention-the trend seems to be more cases of infected animals-maybe in part due to more testing. Let us all hope that more testing is the only reason.

It already turns out to be "very hard" to get this pandemic in humans under control-a major escape into pets, pigs, horses, cattle could make this virus "as good as uncontrolable"-a very major disaster. 

The Moon of Alabama (MoA) [url]https://www.moonofalabama.org/2020/05/new-covid-19-science.html[/url] also had an interesting link; [url]https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2013400[/url]

From the MoA;

The new England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)has a correspondence about cats:

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Domestic Cats

Cats can get infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and do replicate it strongly in their respiratory system. But the cats do not get sick and show no symptoms. During the study three infected cats were each put into the same cage as a not-infected cat. They transmitted the disease to the previously non-infected ones. The researchers tested if the viruses the cats produce are still able to grow on human tissues. Unfortunately they are.

This means that a cat which went out of the house and met a cat who's owner has Covid-19 might come back home and infect its own human servant. Household cats may also play a role in the infection chain between household members. Any cat owner who goes into lockdown or is quarantined at home must also quarantine the cat.

The NEJM Conclusion;

With reports of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from humans to domestic cats1 and to tigers and lions at the Bronx Zoo,4 coupled with our data showing the ease of transmission between domestic cats, there is a public health need to recognize and further investigate the potential chain of human–cat–human transmission. This is of particular importance given the potential for SARS-CoV-2 transmission between family members in households with cats while living under “shelter-in-place” orders. In 2016, an H7N2 influenza outbreak in New York City cat shelters5 highlighted the public health implications of cat-to-human transmission to workers in animal shelters. Moreover, cats may be a silent intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2, because infected cats may not show any appreciable symptoms that might be recognized by their owners. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidelines for pet owners regarding SARS-CoV-2 (www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/animals.html. opens in new tab). Given the need to stop the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic through various mechanisms, including breaking transmission chains, a better understanding of the role cats may play in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to humans is needed.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
~Albert Einstein
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tabitha111 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 16 2020 at 8:34am

Thanks Josh!  Yes, it bears watching. That is why I constantly post relevant information from the Canadian Vet - Scott Weese
Thank you for your links and for posting about this also!

'A man who does not think and plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door.'
--Confucius

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 16 2020 at 9:47am

I have to post some music [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcqk_SEsLPU[/url] "I love my dog" CAT Stevens.....

Nice photo's in the video !

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 19 2020 at 11:33pm

DJ-When Covid19 is able to jump from one species (humans) to another (minks) and back again-that is terrible news ! Hope it is only an incident....

[url]https://nltimes.nl/2020/05/20/mink-may-infected-farm-worker-coronavirus-agriculture-minister[/url] ;

It is plausible that there was a mink to human coronavirus infection in the Netherlands, Minister Carola Schouten of Agriculture said. She did not say at which mink farm this happened. The chance of a mink infecting a human with the coronavirus was not considered high, the Minister said, NOS reports.

An employee at a Dutch mink farm has the coronavirus, and the virus shows similarities with the virus found in mink on that same farm. As far as is known, this is the first time in the Netherlands that a human got the coronavirus from an animal, Schouten said.

Extra measures are being taken at mink farms from now on. "All companies are screened and visitors are banned from visiting the stables." According to Schouten, the virus is not in the air outside the stables. Mink farm workers were already instructed to wear protective clothing. It is too soon to consider culling the animals, Schouten said. "We first want to get a broader picture of all breeding farms. Culling is the ultimate measure, first we want to take other measures." 

Other animals and farm animals are also being checked for the coronavirus. "We want to investigate the transfer between animals and humans." The coronavirus was previously diagnosed in a number of cats and at least one dog. Schouten instructed pet owners to keep an infected pet inside and avoid contact with them until they are recovered. "This is not because we see a great risk for the owners. Contamination from person to person is much more likely." When in doubt, take your pet to the veterinarian, she said. 

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Newbie1A Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2020 at 8:21am

DJ - I'd love to know how they are testing the animals - you watch Peak Prosperity, remember the one on 'gold standard' of testing...?  

People/media are saying the death count is way understated, or it's way over stated (depending which view suits their beliefs and intent/purpose better)… 

JMHO - but till we have an ACCURATE test that actually tests for C19... it's all just guessing

If it's to be - it's up to me!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Newbie1A Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2020 at 8:22am

And the fact that this virus is mutating steady from various reports (again some saying 'no' mutations, most saying 'lots')...

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/chinas-new-outbreak-shows-signs-the-virus-could-be-changing/ar-BB14mHis?ocid=spartandhp

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2020 at 8:50am

Newbie1A on the mutations; [url]https://www.pnas.org/content/117/17/9241[/url] this may 7 released study may be a bit dated  since developments go very fast-with the virus interacting around the globe. 

As far as I know they test the animals by taking swabs (it is much to early for antibodies) Did the virus go from human to cat to mink to human ? 

[url]https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2020/05/mink-with-covid-19-may-have-passed-virus-to-humans/[/url] ;

It is ‘likely’ that mink on one of the fur farms affected by coronavirus have infected a worker, agriculture minister Carola Schouten has told MPs. 

Coronavirus has been found in animals on four farms and in the dust in barns where the mink are kept. One worker has the same strain of the virus as the mink and this, the minister said, makes it likely the animal was the source of the infection. Covid-19 is known to mutate quickly and this enables more information to be gathered about the sources and spread of infections. If confirmed, it would be the first known example of the virus passing from animal to human in the Netherlands. 

In addition, the strain of the virus in two of the four fur farms is similar and experts are now studying the role of cats in spreading the disease. Three of the 11 cats on the farms were found to have coronavirus antibodies in their systems. The cats are semi feral and free to roam. All mink farms now face extra measures, with screening and protective clothing for all workers. The virus has not been found in air samples outside the barns, Schouten said. 

The Netherlands introduced a ban on fur farming in 2013 which includes an 11-year changeover period and Noord-Brabant is the centre of the Dutch industry.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
~Albert Einstein
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