Cat infected with COVID-19 in Spain

About a week ago, experts from the Animal Health Research Centre (Cresa), in Barcelona, received the body of a cat, Report informs, citing Euro Weekly News.

It was the pet of a family in Catalonia in which several members had become ill with Covid-19.

The researchers of this center analyzed several organs in search of SARS-CoV-2, and it was found in only two: the nasal cavity and a lymph node near the intestine, the viral load was very low.

According to the analysis released today by Cresa, the cat suffered from a congenital heart disease known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which can cause sudden death. None of the lesions found in the animal were compatible with a coronavirus infection, meaning the virus had nothing to do with its state of health, veterinarians say.

“This only shows that sometimes very isolated cats can be collateral victims of the pandemic, but there is very little chance that they can infect people,” explains Nàtalia Majó, director of Cresa, which is part of the Institute of Agri-Food Research and Technology of the Catalan Government.