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Review
. 2020 Oct 2;17(1):143.
doi: 10.1186/s12985-020-01416-9.

COVID-19 pandemic: current knowledge about the role of pets and other animals in disease transmission

Mulugeta Kiros  1 , Henok Andualem  2 , Teklehaimanot Kiros  2 , Wasihun Hailemichael  2 , Sisay Getu  2 , Alene Geteneh  3 , Derbie Alemu  4 , Woldaregay Erku Abegaz  5
Affiliations
Review

COVID-19 pandemic: current knowledge about the role of pets and other animals in disease transmission

Mulugeta Kiros et al. Virol J. .

Abstract

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19), a disease caused by a pathogen called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a pandemic. This ongoing pandemic has now been reported in 215 countries with more than 23 million confirmed cases and more than 803 thousand deaths worldwide as of August 22, 2020. Although efforts are undergoing, there is no approved vaccine or any specific antiretroviral drug to treat COVID-19 so far. It is now known that SARS-CoV-2 can affect not only humans but also pets and other domestic and wild animals, making it a one health global problem. Several published scientific evidence has shown that bats are the initial reservoir hosts of SARS-CoV-2, and pangolins are suggested as an intermediate hosts. So far, little is known concerning the role of pets and other animals in the transmission of COVID-19. Therefore, updated knowledge about the potential role of pets in the current outbreak will be of paramount importance for effective prevention and control of the disease. This review summarized the current evidence about the role of pets and other animals in the transmission of COVID-19.

Keywords: Animal model; COVID-19; Domestic animals; One health; Pets; SARS-CoV-2; Wild animals.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Structure of SARS-CoV-2 [17]
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Origin and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 along with the potential role of pets and other animals in disease transmission. This figure illustrates the putative origin of CoVs and disease transmission to humans with a special focus on SARS-CoV-2. Companion animals such as cats and dogs are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and humans can be a source of infection for them, however, the potential role of pets in disease transmission to humans is unknown. Other animals like hamsters, African green monkeys, rhesus macaques, raccoon dogs, mink, ferret, tiger, and lion are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 too. From these susceptible animals, hamsters, African green monkeys, rhesus macaques, and ferret are the potential animal models. Cats and hamsters from pets and mink and ferrets from other animals have the potential to transmit the virus to their respective partners. Minks can be a source of infection for humans. Given the similarity in expression of cell receptor ACE2, we assumed that it might be possible for the virus to transmit back to people again from other animals too. Hence, the usual precautionary measures should always be there as one part of a disease prevention strategy to prevent animal-animal, human to animal, and animal to human disease transmission
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