COVID-19 Pet Heart Infamation

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Web MD reported that a veterinary clinic in the United Kingdom found that COVID-19 can infect dogs and cats resulting a swollen heart condition known as myocarditis.

The study was small, but it found that dogs and cats can be infected with the Alpha variant of COVID-19. Many of the owners of these pets had respiratory symptoms several weeks before their pets became ill and had tested positive for COVID-19.

The study followed the cases of four cats and two dogs who had severe myocarditis. Luckily, most of the pets rebounded. All improved after treatment except one cat who relapsed had to be put to sleep.

Cases of myocarditis had increased at the clinic and the vets realized that the owners had reported being infected by COVID-19 prior to bringing in their pets for treatment. “It is quite compelling that there was an infection in the household and then a few weeks later, clinical signs appear in our pets,” Dr. Luca Ferasin said. “The big difference was that while the owners were experiencing respiratory signs with fever and typical signs of COVID, our pets were presented primarily with a heart disease.”

The symptoms presented very much the same, with dogs and cats that were depressed, lethargic, and they lost their appetite. 1.5 % of pets at eh clinic had heart inflammation Prior to December of 2020. Between  December and March of 2021 12.5 % of the pets had the condition. None of the animals had traditional symptoms of COVID-19 like difficulty breathing.

As a precaution, Ferasin advised pet owners who get infected with Covid-19 to avoid contact with their pets, just as they would with other humans.

Widespread COVID-19 Infections Among Iowa Deer

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Web MD reported that 80% of white-tailed deer in Iowa may be infected with COVID-19. Scientists are worried that the animals could become a reservoir for variants that could come back to haunt humans. In the new study, samples were collected lymph node samples from hundreds of dead deer across the state from April 2020 through January 2021. The researchers believe it’s likely that the virus is rapidly spreading among the deer, The New York Times reported.

There’s no evidence yet of deer-to-human infection, but the Penn State University authors and Iowa wildlife officials are warning deer hunters and others who have contact with deer to take precautions. The veterinary microbiologists who led the study, which has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, said they were shocked to find such widespread infection in deer. Hunters in Iowa are being advised to wear masks and gloves and thoroughly cooking the meat, the risk of exposure can be minimized,” she wrote in an email to the Des Moines Register. “To date, there have been no cases of contracting COVID-19 from eating food, including hunted wild meat.”

“Our results suggest that deer have the potential to emerge as a major reservoir host” for the coronavirus, the study says. “If deer can transmit the virus to humans, it’s a game-changer,” Tony Goldberg, a University of Wisconsin-Madison veterinarian who studies the evolution of infectious diseases as they move between animals and people, told the Times.

The paper, which has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, has been posted online. The findings were verified on Tuesday by federal scientists at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories, according to a spokesperson who spoke to the New York Times.

In the case of farmed mink, Denmark slaughtered its entire population of 17 million farmed mink after scientists discovered they could pass the virus back to people. The virus had also picked up mutations after infecting the mink. If this turns out to be true of deer in America, then all hell could break loose this hunting season.

COVID Knows No Borders

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Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General of Global Communications, for the United Nations, has launched a new initiative called Only Together.

She described the initiative in an interview with WebMD‘s Chief Medical Officer, John Whyte, MD.

“Scientifically, it’s very clear. Only when everyone everywhere is vaccinated will we get out of this pandemic. But how to deliver that message in a way that hits people’s hearts? We decided to launch a campaign that allows people to think about what will I be able to do when I can get back to the things I love. And that’s the first thing. So people are saying I will hug again, I will dance again, I will go to a concert again. It’s very much engaging with interactions with other people. It’s not really materialistic at all. But the secondary message, which for us is the primary message, is for people to then say, I know that I can only do this when everyone has the chance to be vaccinated.”

“The virus travels. That’s the thing. The virus knows no borders. And I don’t think anybody wants to close the borders of the United States or of any country indefinitely. That has major economic consequences, trade consequences, supply consequences. But also just I know that not everybody travels internationally, but the reality is that we are a globalized world that depends and relies on each other.“

“And the reality is that the COVID-19 virus is opportunistic, and it’s looking to cling on to people who are traveling, and to continue to come back. And if it can’t latch on to people who’ve been vaccinated or who have antibodies, it will mutate. So the faster we get everyone around the world– this is just the strategic self-interest part– vaccinated, the faster we can all go back to doing what we love.“

“But the other thing is just it’s a moral issue, really. I mean, we have countries, low-income countries that did not have the financial means, the clout to negotiate deals with pharmaceutical countries early on. And many of them haven’t received a single dose. And what we’re talking about are front line health care workers. We can identify with that. Our doctors, our nurses, they haven’t been vaccinated. And yet, they’re dealing well over a year with people with coronavirus, putting their lives at risk every day. And so this isn’t acceptable. We need to get at least them vaccinated. And that’s what we’re working on.”