The first concrete proof of a pet cat infecting a person with Covid-19 has been reported by researchers in Thailand, albeit they note that such instances of cat-to-human transmission are likely uncommon.
Researchers said the findings were compelling but were shocked it took this long to prove the transmission, according to a paper published in the scientific journal Nature on Wednesday.
According to co-author Sarunyou Chusri, an infectious disease researcher and physician at Prince of Songkla University in Hat Yai, southern Thailand, the discovery, which was published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on June 6, was the result of an accident. A father and kid who had tested positive for Covid-19 in August 2021 were admitted to the university hospital’s isolation unit. Additionally swabbed, their 10-year-old cat had a positive result. The cat sneezed in the face of a veterinarian who was swabbing it while donning a mask, gloves, but no eye protection.
The veterinarian tested positive for Covid three days later after experiencing fever, sniffles, and a cough, but none of her close friends or family members also contracted the illness, raising the possibility that she had contracted it from the cat, which may lead to first known case of cat to human transmission of covid.
