Woman Passes On Coronavirus To Her Pet CAT

A woman has infected her cat with coronavirus, health authorities in Belgium revealed today. 

Steven van Gucht, head of viral diseases at the country’s Institute of Health, told a press conference that ‘a coronavirus infection has been determined in a cat’. 

‘The cat lived with her owner, who started showing symptoms of the virus a week before the cat did,’ he said.

The Belgian case is the first report of a cat being infected with the new coronavirus, although officials in Hong Kong say two dogs have caught the virus there.

‘It is an isolated case,‘ van Gucht said at the press conference today, according to Belgian media. ‘There are no indications that this is common.’ 

Officials did not identify the woman but said that she came from the Belgian city of Liege in the French-speaking part of the country.

Van Gucht added: ‘The cat had diarrhoea, kept vomiting and had breathing difficulties. The researchers found the virus in the cat’s faeces. 

‘We want to stress that this is an isolated case. Additionally, in this case, we are talking about a human-to-animal transmission, not the other way around.

‘There are no indications that this is common. The risk of animal-to-human transmission, is very small.’ 

Updated advice from Belgian health authorities said the infected cat had ‘transient respiratory and digestive disorders’. 

Officials said it was the only known case of a pet being infected apart from the two in Hong Kong.

‘There is no evidence to date that the virus is being transmitted from pets to humans or other pets,‘ Belgian officials say.

Nonetheless, anyone who suspects that their pet might be infected the virus is being asked to call their vet in advance to make arrangements.

The guidelines also advise infected people to limit their contact with pets and when touching them to take care not to infect them.