Specialist hospital stresses: ‘We have strong suspicion of transmission from human to pet, not vice versa’
Vets are warning of a possible link between a new variant of coronavirus and heart problems in cats and dogs after a increase in pets presenting with myocarditis at a specialist veterinary hospital in Buckinghamshire during the pandemic’s second wave.
“We don’t want to spread panic unnecessarily, especially because at the moment we have a strong suspicion of transmission from human to pet, but not vice versa – and we don’t know this for sure. But vets ought to be aware of this so that they can start testing if they suspect a potential case of Covid infection,” said Luca Ferasin, a cardiologist at the Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre (RVRC) in Marlow, who led the research, which has not yet been peer reviewed.
