SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Prime Minister Ding Se-gyun said at a meeting chaired by the Central Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on Jan. 24 that South Korea has reported its first confirmed case of pets infected with the new coronavirus. Epidemic prevention department in the flow of the investigation found and confirmed that there are pets diagnosed with new coronavirus infection. Ding Se-kyun asked the epidemic prevention department to investigate the possibility of transmission of neocoronavirus between humans and animals to each other from a scientific point of view and publicize the contents. He also instructed the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Animal Industry and Food (MAFF) to work with the epidemic prevention department to formulate an epidemic prevention code for pets to ease people's worries.
South Korea's southeastern city of Jinju saw the country's first case of an animal infected with the neocoronavirus a few weeks ago, the Korea Herald reported,? The patient? was a pet kitten, and as a result Seoul has begun a testing program for pet dogs and cats, with other parts of South Korea expected to follow the capital's lead.
A group of health workers, including a veterinarian, will conduct the tests near the pets' homes, Park Yoo-mi, a Seoul Metropolitan Government official in charge of disease control, said at an online news conference. Dogs and cats will only be tested if they have come into contact with a human who has tested positive for the new crown and show symptoms such as fever, coughing, difficulty breathing and increased eye or nose discharge. Park Yumi added that most pets do not show symptoms.
If a pet tests positive, the health department will ask the owner to quarantine the pet at home for 14 days instead of sending it to a quarantine facility because there's no evidence that neocoronavirus pneumonia can be transmitted from pets to humans, and the evidence that the neocoronavirus can be transmitted from humans to some pets remains limited at this time.
The health department also takes pets to a municipal quarantine facility in western Seoul for quarantine if their owners are unable to take care of them because they have been hospitalized with the neocoronavirus, are suffering from an underlying disease or are elderly.
Park Yumi reminded Seoul residents: ? Keep dogs at least 2 meters away from people and other pets when walking them, and strictly observe precautionary measures such as wearing a muzzle and washing hands.?
AFP reported that several animals, including dogs and cats, have been infected with the new coronavirus worldwide. At least two gorillas at the San Diego Zoo in California have tested positive for the new coronavirus. And in Denmark, the world's largest producer of mink, a mutated version of the new coronavirus has been found in the country's farmed mink, leading the country to cull all farmed mink.
Science then reported that there is no urgent need for a pet vaccine. Symptoms in pets infected with the new crown virus appear to be relatively mild, and it does not appear that cats and dogs are playing a significant role in the spread of the new crown at this time. Commercial licenses for pet vaccines in the United States are approved by the USDA. No COVID-19 vaccine has been approved by the USDA at this time. The agency says that ? data suggests this vaccine has no value? USDA spokeswoman Joelle? Joelle Hayden told Science: ? Companies are still free to develop these vaccines, but without a license, these companies cannot sell or distribute them.?
Laboratory studies have shown that, in terms of cellular receptors, SARS-CoV-2 can infect a wide range of animals from squirrels to sheep and even sperm whales.
Jonathan Epstein, vice president of science and outreach at EcoHealth, said that the vaccine is a good idea. Jonathan Epstein, EcoHealth's vice president of science and outreach, said in an interview with Science that its biggest concern is with gorillas. Human respiratory viruses have been deadly in the past in chimpanzees and gorillas, Epstein said, and researchers are concerned: the new coronavirus could wipe out endangered primate species in Africa and Asia.
Given that there have been outbreaks of neocollins on mink farms, Epstein said, the virus could mutate and spread not only to people but also to wildlife. With mink and apes, the best way to protect them is to change the way we interact with them. Mink, for example, are farmed at high densities, which likely facilitates the spread of the virus. Whether or not people themselves have been vaccinated against Neocoronavirus, they should take extra precautions with animals that may be infected with Neocoronavirus. People who are going to come into contact with gorillas, for example, should wear masks.
But vaccines for new crowns are relatively easy to make. Russia recently announced that it is about to complete clinical trials of a new crown vaccine for domestic animals and pets, such as minks and cats. Zoetis, a U.S. veterinary pharmaceutical company, is also working on a vaccine for minks and pets. The latest data provided by the company show that cats and dogs have a strong immune response to viral molecules or antigens, although it is not yet clear whether this is enough to protect them from infection.