company news about Animals and COVID-19

Animals and COVID-19

What You Need to Know?

1. The risk of animals spreading SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to people is low.

2. The virus can spread from people to animals during close contact.

3. More studies are needed to understand if and how different animals could be affected by COVID-19.

4. People with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 should avoid contact with animals, including pets, livestock, and wildlife.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses. Some coronaviruses cause cold-like illnesses in people, while others cause illness in certain types of animals, such as cattle, camels, and bats. Some coronaviruses, such as canine and feline coronaviruses, infect only animals and do not infect people.

Risk of people spreading SARS-CoV-2 to animals

Reports of animals infected with SARS-CoV-2 have been documented around the world. Most of these animals became infected after contact with people with COVID-19, including owners, caretakers, or others who were in close contact. We don’t yet know all of the animals that can get infected. Animals reported infected include:

Companion animals, including pet cats, dogs, and ferrets.

Animals in zoos and sanctuaries, including several types of big cats, otters, non-human primates, a binturong, a coatimundi, a fishing cat, and hyenas.

Mink on mink farms.

Wild white-tailed deer in several U.S. states.