How Are Animals Affected By COVID-19?

While humans are certainly the focus when it comes to COVID-19, they aren't the only species of life that can contract the deadly virus.

Many animals can get coronavirus, meaning that they are also impacted by the current pandemic. This is problematic because animals can spread diseases to injured victims. Knowing this, you might wonder if you are at risk of getting COVID-19 from an animal.

Furthermore, owning a pet might make you worry about your pet's safety and whether they will get sick. Coronavirus is highly dangerous and does not yet have a vaccine, so keeping your pet healthy is a priority.

Pets and wild animals are affected by COVID-19, even if it isn't obvious. To help you see how this is happening, we'll point out the impact of coronavirus on animals below.

COVID-19 Is Linked to Bats

It's helpful to start by understanding where COVID-19 came from. While it is not yet fully verified, there is a high likelihood that it originated from bats.

Keep in mind that this is more of a suspicion than a verified truth. We don't know for sure that bats are the source of origin, but there are many reasons to believe this is the case. 

Firstly, the coronavirus strain that we're facing today is eerily similar to other well-known coronaviruses that stemmed from bats. Also, the evidence strongly suggests that COVID-19 is a mutated version of a virus known as SARS-CoV-2. 

SARS-CoV-2 is predominantly found in bats and is thought to be closely related to COVID-19. This finding is what links bats to both coronaviruses.

Many researchers believe that COVID-19 traveled from bats to another animal before infecting humans. However, they are not sure which animal acted as the middleman between bats and human beings. 

Although it isn't confirmed yet, bats are likely the cause of the coronavirus outbreak.

Spread Between Humans and Animals

One of the biggest questions you may have is whether COVID-19 can spread between humans and animals. Coronavirus did spread from animals to humans at the beginning of the issue. 

As you likely assumed, COVID-19 can travel from animals to humans. But it can also go in the other direction and be transmitted from people to animals as well. 

However, it is extremely rare for animals to contract COVID-19 from humans. The more common trend is that people are contracting COVID-19 from animals and then spreading it to other people. 

If COVID-19 was easily transferable from humans back to animals again, we would likely expect to see far more cases of COVID-19 in animals. But this is simply not the case and that shows how it is more of a one-way transmission. 

The current pandemic has been caused by the transmission of COVID-19 particles from animals to humans. From here, it is spread among humans and tends to stay with them rather than returning to animals.   

Animals Usually Carry a Different Strain

Another useful piece of information is that animals tend to carry a different strain of coronavirus that doesn't affect humans. Likewise, humans are being affected by a mutated version of the coronavirus that originated in animals. 

We mentioned SARS-CoV-2 already, but just to clarify, this is the name of the virus that initially caused the current coronavirus that we're all battling today. However, once COVID-19 started infecting humans, it mutated to continue effectively spreading. 

This new, mutated virus can transfer from person to person, but it's less likely to affect animals now. This doesn't mean that COVID-19 is fully incapable of infecting animals, but the odds are much lower. 

COVID-19 has a harder time affecting animals now that it has mutated. This is because the current coronavirus doesn't contain the same genetic makeup anymore and animals aren't as vulnerable to it.

Keep in mind that a person with coronavirus and an animal with coronavirus likely have different strains.  

Cats Have a Higher Risk

If you own cats, then you may be concerned to know that cats have a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Cats are naturally more prone to contracting coronaviruses than dogs are. 

Studies have shown that cats are simply more susceptible to contracting COVID-19 due to their genetic predisposition to the virus. The most common way that cats can contract it is through aerosol transmission. 

It's certainly more likely for COVID-19 to travel between people than from humans to cats. However, it's still a possibility and gives you a good reason to practice caution around cats if you are sick. 

Domesticated cats aren't the only felines susceptible to COVID-19. Wild cats like tigers and lynxes can also catch the virus, showing that the entire cat species is particularly vulnerable to coronavirus. 

Increased Poaching

As far as wild animals go, there has been an increase in poaching, specifically of endangered species. As a result, COVID-19 is impacting the overall safety of wild animals. 

Because the economy is in poor condition, law enforcement has decreased because many officers have been laid off or had their hours reduced. With fewer park rangers and law enforcement officers patrolling the natural reserves, poachers are roaming free.

Increasingly more poachers are ignoring social distancing laws in favor of capturing animals. Since there are fewer tourists exploring wildlife conservations, poachers don't have to be as discreet about their unlawful behavior. 

Instead, they can carry out their poaching without fear of getting caught. This is leading to a massive increase in the number of wild cats and other endangered species being killed during coronavirus. 

While it may not be the virus itself killing animals, the circumstances it creates are leading to their death. Poachers will continue to kill until adequate enforcement returns. 

Closing Thoughts

Animals are significantly affected by coronavirus. The COVID-19 outbreak affecting the world started with animals, the most likely source being bats.

Coronavirus can be spread between humans and animals but is far more likely to transfer from animal to human. This is because animals tend to be affected by different strains of the virus, while also carrying the variant that impacts humans.

Cats tend to have a higher risk of catching COVID-19, whether they're domestic or wild. A final effect on wildlife is an uptick in poaching of endangered species. Putting this together, all species of the world are being drastically changed by coronavirus.