Coronavirus in pets: What you need to know

By Silvia Zayadin

Veternarian

Canine coronavirus, feline coronavirus and COVID-19 are from the same big family, yet, they have different characteristics and hosts. They usually do not cross-infect other species. Read on for more.

Feline coronavirus and infectious peritonitis

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a viral disease of cats caused by one of the strains of feline coronavirus. Usually, most of those strains are found in the gastrointestinal tract of the cat and do not cause significant disease. These strains are known as a feline enteric coronavirus.

The intestinal form of this virus usually does not cause any symptoms during the initial viral infection; cats may occasionally have some bouts of diarrhoea or mild upper respiratory symptoms. In most cases they recover without treatment. Sometimes, a mutation will cause the virus to spread throughout the cat’s body. When this occurs, the virus is referred to as Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) virus. This is a more serious and severe strain of the virus, thus the disease’s course is more severe and could be fatal.

Symptoms

In most cases, the coronavirus infection has no symptoms. In more severe cases, symptoms can include one or more of the following:

• Upper respiratory symptoms (sneezing, nasal discharge, cough)

• Weight loss

• Loss of appetite

• Diarrhoea

• Vomiting

Cats affected with FIP may be alert or depressed and may experience fever. Their appetite may be normal, increased or absent. Symptoms vary depending on which organs are involved. The liver, kidneys, pancreas, central nervous system and eyes are the ones most commonly affected.

In more serious and severe cases, noticeable fluid build-up in the abdomen leads to swelling. In other cases, fluid buildup in the lungs will lead to difficulty in breathing. Fluid can also build up around the heart.

Treatment and management

As with all viral diseases, there is no specific treatment for feline coronavirus. In mild intestinal cases, your pet will recover without treatment. In more severe cases, supportive therapy is needed to avoid complications.

It is uncommon for cats affected with feline infectious peritonitis to recover. Usually, this disease ends with death within several days, although in some cases, it can happen after several months.

Can it transfer to humans?

To date, feline coronaviruses cannot be passed from infected cats to humans.

Canine coronavirus

Two major coronaviruses cause disease in dogs and both of them are not related to the COVID-19 virus:

• Canine enteric coronavirus (CCV)

• Canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCoV)

CCV causes highly infectious intestinal infection in dogs, especially in puppies and is found worldwide. CCV infection is generally considered to be a relatively mild disease with sporadic symptoms or none at all. Most cases of canine coronavirus are transmitted by direct oral contact with infected faeces. A dog may also become infected by eating from contaminated food bowls or by direct contact with an infected dog.

Symptoms

The symptoms of a CCV infection vary. In adult dogs, the majority of infections don’t result in any visible symptoms. Mild vomiting and yellow-greenish explosive diarrhoea are the most commonly seen symptoms. Other symptoms may include:

• Lethargy

• Loss of appetite

• Fever

• Dehydration

The course of the disease is usually more serious in puppies as symptoms may develop very quickly and lead to more severe complications.

Canine respiratory coronavirus is genetically related to the bovine coronavirus, which can cause respiratory infections in cattle and the human coronavirus that causes the common cold in people. The risk of infection increases in areas highly populated such as kennels and shelters.

Dogs of all breeds and ages can get infected. The virus is spread directly from dog to dog contact and through infected aerosols and respiratory secretions of infected dogs.

Symptoms

Most dogs will have mild respiratory disease with a cough, sneezing and nasal discharge. In some cases, dogs infected with CRCoV may develop pneumonia, which usually resolves within one to two weeks, depending on whether or not there’s co-infection with other viruses or bacteria.

Treatment and management

In mild cases, the disease will resolve on its own without treatment. In more severe cases, supportive therapy is recommended to control the symptoms and to prevent further complications.

Can it transfer to humans?

There is no evidence that CRCoV can infect other animal species or people.

COVID-19 and pets

• There are a few reports of pets being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 after being in contact with people who were positive for COVID-19

• There’s no evidence that pets can spread COVID-19 to people

• Canine and feline coronavirus are NOT the same as COVID-19

• People cannot get infected with “canine” and “feline” coronavirus

Monitor trusted news outlets for the latest updates, such as Centres for Disease Control, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health as well as national authorities.

Can pets spread COVID-19?

According to the WHO for Animal Health, “COVID-19 is a result of human to human transmission. To date, there is no evidence that companion animals spread the disease. Therefore, there is no justification in taking measures against companion animals which may compromise their welfare”.

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine