Coronaviruses, Horses, and COVID-19 Part 1
I believe that while this topic may be a bit over done it is still an important one to discuss nonetheless. I know that it is everywhere in the media, but I hope to bring in another, scientifically-backed perspective into the discussion. I will strive to give a break down of the scientific knowledge that we have regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and what it may mean for our pets.
This first part covers what information is currently available regarding COVID-19. Part 2 will cover coronaviruses in general and this pandemic's origin, and part 3 will cover how this strain can affect horses, dogs, and cats, and what other coronaviruses they can contract.
While I do possess a BSc. in Biology, I am not a doctor nor a veterinarian, and this will not contain medical advice, just some interesting science to help fight misconceptions about the pandemic. In times of fear, our greatest weapon is knowledge. If you have a fever, cough, fatigue, or other upper respiratory symptoms, call your local medical facilities and inquire about next steps.
SARS, MERS, and the Common Flu are all coronaviruses, so we should use the proper terms when addressing this particular pandemic. All coronaviruses are RNA-based, but each strain affects us differently. Contracting the common flu may be lethal in the elderly and immunocompromised, but COVID-19 is not the Flu, and has shown to be lethal in young, healthy people as well.
COVID-19 is the name of a strain of a zoonotic (contracted from an animal origin) coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China in late 2019. While it is related to the common flu, its infection and mortality rates are many times that of the flu. It's incubation period is around 5 days, but you may not develop symptoms until day 14 ( as opposed to ~2 days for the common flu) which means that there is a greater period of time in which an individual feels completely fine and yet is still contagious (Lauer et al. 2020). Longer incubation periods like this often lead to higher infection rates as infected individuals have more time to go about their daily lives, interacting with other people, and spreading the disease before they feel ill and quarantine. This gives the virus more time to not only infect many more of your own cells, but more time to spread unhampered as well.
Immunocompromised individuals aren't just people with genetic disorders, but also cancer patients, smokers, and people taking medications that suppress their immune system. (Yes, smoking damages lung tissue, making it harder to combat secondary infections like pneumonia). Self-isolating, good hygiene, and being aware of those around you are currently the only means of defence that we have against this virus.
Since this strain is new (hasn't been seen in humans before), there is no vaccine yet. While clinical trials are being run to test various medication's effectiveness against this virus, there is currently nothing you can take to prevent contracting COVID-19. You can boost your immunity, however, you may still end up just being an asymptomatic carrier (showing no signs of an infection/feel just fine) and can still spread the disease to others who are unable to fight it off. Also, some viruses will actually use your immune system against you, like in a cytokine storm. This means that, for some viruses, the stronger your immune system is, the stronger it is against your own body tissues. COVID-19 may cause cytokine storms and antibody-dependant enhancement (ADE) (Tetro, 2020). This could create difficulties in creating a vaccine, so better hygiene and adhering to quarantine regulations for the duration of this pandemic (well, please continue to be hygienic) will be very important.
I know that this is a bit of a departure from my usual content, but I felt that this was important to discuss. Also, I will continue my regular posts as well!
This first part covers what information is currently available regarding COVID-19. Part 2 will cover coronaviruses in general and this pandemic's origin, and part 3 will cover how this strain can affect horses, dogs, and cats, and what other coronaviruses they can contract.
While I do possess a BSc. in Biology, I am not a doctor nor a veterinarian, and this will not contain medical advice, just some interesting science to help fight misconceptions about the pandemic. In times of fear, our greatest weapon is knowledge. If you have a fever, cough, fatigue, or other upper respiratory symptoms, call your local medical facilities and inquire about next steps.
Up to date as of May 3rd, 2020
SARS, MERS, and the Common Flu are all coronaviruses, so we should use the proper terms when addressing this particular pandemic. All coronaviruses are RNA-based, but each strain affects us differently. Contracting the common flu may be lethal in the elderly and immunocompromised, but COVID-19 is not the Flu, and has shown to be lethal in young, healthy people as well.
COVID-19 is the name of a strain of a zoonotic (contracted from an animal origin) coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China in late 2019. While it is related to the common flu, its infection and mortality rates are many times that of the flu. It's incubation period is around 5 days, but you may not develop symptoms until day 14 ( as opposed to ~2 days for the common flu) which means that there is a greater period of time in which an individual feels completely fine and yet is still contagious (Lauer et al. 2020). Longer incubation periods like this often lead to higher infection rates as infected individuals have more time to go about their daily lives, interacting with other people, and spreading the disease before they feel ill and quarantine. This gives the virus more time to not only infect many more of your own cells, but more time to spread unhampered as well.
Immunocompromised individuals aren't just people with genetic disorders, but also cancer patients, smokers, and people taking medications that suppress their immune system. (Yes, smoking damages lung tissue, making it harder to combat secondary infections like pneumonia). Self-isolating, good hygiene, and being aware of those around you are currently the only means of defence that we have against this virus.
Since this strain is new (hasn't been seen in humans before), there is no vaccine yet. While clinical trials are being run to test various medication's effectiveness against this virus, there is currently nothing you can take to prevent contracting COVID-19. You can boost your immunity, however, you may still end up just being an asymptomatic carrier (showing no signs of an infection/feel just fine) and can still spread the disease to others who are unable to fight it off. Also, some viruses will actually use your immune system against you, like in a cytokine storm. This means that, for some viruses, the stronger your immune system is, the stronger it is against your own body tissues. COVID-19 may cause cytokine storms and antibody-dependant enhancement (ADE) (Tetro, 2020). This could create difficulties in creating a vaccine, so better hygiene and adhering to quarantine regulations for the duration of this pandemic (well, please continue to be hygienic) will be very important.
I know that this is a bit of a departure from my usual content, but I felt that this was important to discuss. Also, I will continue my regular posts as well!
Citations:
Lauer, S. A., Grantz, K.H., Bi, Q., Jones, F.K., Zheng, Q., Meredith, H.R., Azman, A.S., Reich, N.G., Lessler, J. 2020. The Incubation Period of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) From Publicly reported Confirmed Cases: Estimation and Application. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2020.
Tetro, J.A. 2020. Is COVID-19 receiving ADE from other coronaviruses? Microbes and Infection. 22: 72-73.
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