Major coronavirus variant found in pets for first time

 

The variants of SARS-CoV-2 that keep emerging aren’t just a human problem. Two reports released this week have found the first evidence that dogs and cats can become infected by B.1.1.7, a recent variant of the pandemic coronavirus that transmits more readily between people and also appears more lethal in them. The finds mark the first time one of the several major variants of concern has been seen outside of humans.

B.1.1.7 was first identified in the United Kingdom and that’s where some of the variant-infected pets were found. The U.K. animals suffered myocarditis—an inflammation of the heart tissue that, in serious cases, can cause heart failure. But the reports offer no proof that the SARS-CoV-2 variant is responsible, nor that it’s more transmissible or dangerous in animals. “It’s an interesting hypothesis, but there’s no evidence that the virus is causing these problems,” says Scott Weese, a veterinarian at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College who specializes in emerging infectious diseases.

Since December 2020, scientists have identified multiple variants of concern that appear more transmissible or are able to evade some immune response. B.1.351, for example, was first detected in South Africa, and a strain called P.1 was first found in Brazil. The B.1.1.7 variant drew early attention because of its rapid rise in the United Kingdom; it now comprises about 95% of all new infections there.

Covid-19 Transmission to and from Pets

Be aware that transmission of Covid-19, Coronavirus, from animals to other animals and transmission from animals to people, and from people to animas is almost certainly occuring.

It has been established that covid-19 can infect and kill dogs, cats, minks, and other species. We need testing to be done to determine whether or not infected animals can pass the coronavirus on to people (it is believed that they can transmit the coronavirus to people), whether people can pass the virus to their pets (this is probably how pets become infected in the first place), and whether pets can pass the Covid-19 virus on to other pets of the same species and other pets and animals of different species.

Until such time as more is known about this; we must recommend that people take precautions with their pets; stop "kissing" their pets (this is never really a good idea, and no saliva should ever be exchanged between people and other species, including dogs and cats - please make your children aware of this), and stop getting their faces close to those of their pets so as to share the same air.

Please do not abandon pets because of this possibliity or probability of transmission; rather have pets with breathing difficulties tested, and enforce some social distancing, if necessary if people or pets in a household are infected. Some infecetd people who self-isolate do not stay away from their pets, and this is an error which can potentially be fatal for your beloved pets, so please include pets when isolating. The period of contagion does not, it is believed, last for more than 2 to 3 weeks, so any social distancing that is done between people and their pets is for a short period of time only.

Please respect these guidelines.

 

Volunteer Immunity - Resistance Trials

We at Wuhan-Virus.biz are also advocating deliberate infection of vaccinated people in vaccine trials, but ONLY through being put into an enclosed space with actively infected people. We also advocate doing the same for infected animals in both directions. This would allow us to prove that human-to-human airborne transmission is happening, and also to prove whether or not the virus can be transmitted by breathing the same air that an infected pet exhales, and vice-versa.

It is well-known that many animal species can catch the virus and that transmission among members of the same species is happening. This includes dogs and cats, in addition to the minks that have had to be repeatedly culled due to 80% + population infection rates. It is believed that mink to human transmission (almost certainly airborne) has occurred. We need to know if household pets can transmit the virus to humans, and if so (we believe that it is possible, and that transmission in this manner is happening), how is it happening? Is it through physical contact with the pet, or is simply breathing in the same air that the pet breathes out sufficient to transmit the virus. It is crucial, we believe, not to overlook this transmission vector.