A new infected cat. The Toulouse veterinary school detected the presence of Covid-19 in a cat from Bordeaux, according to information of 20 minutes. The animal was tested positive earlier this week by researchers from the veterinary school. Its owners were not tested but all showed symptoms of the virus, the site said.
It is the second cat to have contracted Covid-19 in France, after a first identified in Paris. This first feline had experienced all the usual symptoms described in people infected with the virus: loss of appetite, apathy, sneezing, inability to get up.
Several samples were taken from this second cat. The "nasopharyngeal" test was positive, "said Marie-Christine Cadiergues, director of the school's Veterinary University Hospital Center for Pets (CHUVAC). Other analyzes are in progress.
Researchers are now trying to understand how the virus can circulate between humans and animals. As in the previous cases, the owner would have contaminated his cat first, and not vice versa.
In an opinion delivered in April, the National Health Security Agency (ANSES) considered that there was no evidence that domestic animals could transmit Covid-19.
A serological survey in preparation
“At the moment, we know that the cat is sensitive to infection, but does not play a role. We will launch a serological survey, especially in cats whose owners have been infected. This should allow us to assess the risk factors and the circulation of the virus, ”said the researcher with the site.
The study, which will be launched once the serological tests have been validated, should make it possible to determine why cats are more sensitive to the virus than other animal species, such as dogs.
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