The cats are expected to make a full recovery.
The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention have said that two cats in New York state have tested positive for the coronavirus. The two cases of the virus are believed to be unrelated.
The CDC have said that both of the pet cats are expected to make a full recovery, and that routine testing on animals is not advisable. The same organisation has further noted that “at this time, there is no evidence that animals play a significant role in spreading the virus that causes Covid-19”.
This development follows an announcement during the week by the Bronx Zoo that several of the zoo’s big cats had also tested positive for the virus.
New York has been one of the areas hardest hit by Covid-19, with its known death toll surpassing 15,000 on Wednesday.
The World Health Organisation is currently investigating several cases of pets having been infected with the virus.
“We’re aware of two dogs that have been infected in Hong Kong, a cat in Belgium and we’ve heard recently the reports of a tiger at the Bronx Zoo,” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove of the WHO said.
“There are several groups that are conducting investigations in animals to really understand how pets are infected.”
At present, it is not believed that animals are playing any role in spreading the virus between humans – but it seems likely that humans can infect animals.
So far, there have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Irish animals.
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