COVID-19 pandemic and animals

Dogs are capable of becoming infected with COVID-19. They are also capable of cheering up lonely caretakers during lockdowns.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected animals directly and indirectly. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is zoonotic, which likely to have originated from animals such as bats and pangolins.[1][2][3] Human impact on wildlife and animal habitats may be causing such spillover events to become much more likely.[4][5] The largest incident to date was the 2020 Danish mink cull, the slaughter of all 17 million mink in Denmark after it was discovered that they were infected with a mutant strain of the virus.[6][7]

While research is inconclusive, pet owners reported that their animals contributed to better mental health and lower loneliness during COVID-19 lockdowns.[8][9] However, contact with humans infected with the virus could have adverse effects on pet animals.[10]

  1. ^ Daly N (25 August 2020). "COVID-19's impact on the animal kingdom—so far". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  2. ^ Frutos R, Serra-Cobo J, Chen T, Devaux CA (5 August 2020). "COVID-19: Time to exonerate the pangolin from the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to humans". Infection, Genetics and Evolution. 84: 104493. Bibcode:2020InfGE..8404493F. doi:10.1016/j.meegid.2020.104493. PMC 7405773. PMID 32768565.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference CDC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Coronavirus pandemic linked to destruction of wildlife and world's ecosystem". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  5. ^ Johnson CK, Hitchens PL, Pandit PS, Rushmore J, Evans TS, Young CC, et al. (8 April 2020). "Global shifts in mammalian population trends reveal key predictors of virus spillover risk". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 287 (1924): 20192736. doi:10.1098/rspb.2019.2736. PMC 7209068. PMID 32259475.
  6. ^ Dean G (5 November 2020). "Denmark says it will cull 17 million mink after discovering a mutated strain of COVID-19 that officials fear could 'restart' the entire global pandemic". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  7. ^ Finnemann Scheel, Agnete (5 November 2020). "Ny corona-mutation er en kæp i hjulet på vaccinen: Det ved vi om 'cluster 5'" (in Danish). DR. Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Pets linked to maintaining better mental health and reducing loneliness during lockdown, new research shows". ScienceDaily. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Pets and the pandemic: the impact our animals had on our mental health and wellbeing". The Conversation. 25 January 2021. Archived from the original on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Pets are helping us cope during the pandemic—but that may be stressing them out". National Geographic. 2 February 2021. Archived from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.

Developed by StudentB