Bizarre Case of a Horse who Allegedly Got Coronavirus from a Human, is now in Quarantine

Amid panic caused by a fear that the animal might have caught the novel coronavirus, a horse was quarantined in India at the owner’s residence.

In the Himalayan region of Kashmir, a 21-year-old rider was placed in quarantine after authorities found him to have come in contact with an infected individual.

Without proper equipment, it was advised by Official Sher Singh to not come in close proximity of the horse in question.

Until the rider is clear of the coronavirus, the horse is isolated and removed from any contact with other animals that might also risk being infected.

After the global threatening spread of the virus causing a lethal pandemic, killing 356,000 people all over the world, animals have also come under fear and speculation.

Though it is not yet found whether coronavirus in horses can be contracted. Previously studies have begun to show cattle, sheep, and cats catching the SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Lung structures of 251 animals of different species were studied by researchers at the University of Hunan to find evidence in which animals could be infected by exposure to humans and bats. Now coronavirus in animals has become a topic of several studies as researchers try to find important information surrounding it.

Other than bats, pangolins, and humans it was discovered that the virus had evolved to infect as far as ten different creatures, among the listed animals, were pigeons, buffalos, pigs, and goats.

The study raises concern about whether the virus would have the ability to mutate considerably and become able to jump back forth from animals to humans, making it more dangerous than it already is.

The study was led by a virologist, Xing-Yi Ge who had been a previous employee at Wuhan Institute of Virology’s Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The report by Xing-Yi Ge awaits its publishing in the journal Microbes And Infection. The study stands to warn about the transmission happening between different species that have ended up causing the pandemic.

Evidence to support such a claim includes the Sars epidemic in 2003 when the said virus was found to hop from bats to humans through civet cats and raccoons.

Entry points in cells of dogs differ from cats making dogs unlikely candidates for the virus, new research concludes.

Horseshoe bats were traced as the origin of coronavirus but it is unlikely for them to be the direct infectors to humans, instead a carrier animal is expected to be the one who brought it to humans.

A pangolin sold at Wuhan’s food market is part of the two theories presented for how the virus ended up affecting humans. The other theory is that a sample might have escaped from a few laboratories that were studying horseshoe bats.

A real threat is posed with the discovery of Covid-19’s ability to infect animals who are exposed to humans.

After a recent case of a Belgium woman, when a cat caught the infection from the owner was confirmed by studies that found cats capable of being infected by humans who had the virus.

Harbin Veterinary Research Institute in China, underwent several types of research to conclude that cats were highly susceptible to coronavirus.

In the lab where experiments on cats took place, it was found that cats could spread coronavirus to other cats via droplets from respiratory passages.

Studies were conducted where a small number of cats were administered the disease and kept in cages with healthy cats, through the study it was found that though cats did spread the disease to other cats, it did not pose a lethal threat and did not kill them.

It was also found that cats did not spread the disease to humans but the other way around. This made disease experts and virologists warn people and make them cautious about the well being of their pets as coronavirus in animals can happen from human to animal transmission.

 

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