COVID-19: Zoonosis transmitted by dogs and cats?

Abstract

A bibliographic survey was conducted regarding the current questioning about possible complications from the new coronavirus (COVID-19) in animal species and the possibility of direct transmission between infected animals and humans. A bibliographic review of books, periodicals, scientific articles, electronic journals, and official pages of international organizations and public bodies that were considered relevant to the topic. Databases like Pubmed, Scielo, and Google Scholar were used as a base. The study was directed among the reported cases in dogs and cats until April 17th, 2020. The ongoing researches and those already concluded demonstrate that COVID-19 in domestic species manifests itself as a reverse zoonosis, with cats and ferrets being the most common species more likely to contract the virus when compared to dogs. Through this bibliographic review it was concluded that if cats and ferrets develop the disease, the complications are considerably less severe and mortal when compared to clinical cases in humans. Dogs, on the other hand, seem to have extremely low levels of contractility of the virus and do not appear to be at risk in the face of the current pandemic.