Now that nearly universal quarantine has been introduced because of the coronavirus, dog owners are in a better position to officially go out for a short while. But that’s not all that’s good for dogs. Scientists from the Italian city of Catanzaro have found that those with a quadruple-legged pet COVID-19 are easier to carry. A similar effect was observed in those in contact with cattle.
To find an explanation for this phenomenon, the researchers compared viruses. The disease of bulls, cows and other cattle turned out to be 38.4% similar to the Chinese coronavirus and 36.9% similar to the dog virus. That means the owners already have some kind of immunity on SARS-Cov-2.
The same was reported by Sabina Olex-Condor, a Polish doctor who works in one of the clinics in Madrid. The doctor believes that owners of cats and dogs, as a rule, carry coronavirus lighter or completely asymptomatic.
“This is an issue that needs further study, but it is suggested that here we can deal with higher immunity due to contact with pet specific coronaviruses and a more efficient immune system,” says Olex-Condor.
This may be due to the fact that cross-reactions produce antibodies to the virus and the owners (most often) of cats are more protected against COVID19. Olex-Condor built its conclusions by analyzing the observations of 100 patients with coronavirus.
“Cats are known to have a form of cat coronavirus that does not affect humans. So it is possible that people who have close daily contact with a carrier cat may have antibodies to the cat virus. And these antibodies can also destroy the human virus. It’s called a cross-reaction and it exists in nature. Of course, to confirm my assumptions will require in-depth research and statistics,” says the doctor.
The immunity of pet owners may already be “hardened” in the fight against micro-organisms in animals’ saliva and coats, so the disease is easier to tolerate.