Covid-19 is not frequently detected in animals but indeed the Sars-Cov-2 virus has been detected in 17 animal species since the start of the pandemic.
These are wild species such as otters, deer, bats, animals in zoos or farms (lions, tigers, monkeys, minks) as well as some rare pets, such as mainly cats, dogs, ferrets. In France, two cases have been officially listed in cats. In total, the World Organization for Animal Health, the OIE, has identified 625 outbreaks of animal contamination in 32 countries, which is without comparison with the more than 300 million cases of Covid recorded in humans.
Today, there is no worrying alert on the presence of Sars-Cov-2 but the experts remain vigilant. If this virus began to cross the species barrier more easily by going from man to animal, and then again from animal to man, this would increase the risk of the appearance of mutated forms of the virus possibly resistant to the vaccine. It is to limit this risk that several million mink were slaughtered last year in several countries, notably in Denmark.
In general, the surveillance of infectious diseases in animals will be crucial in the years to come, explains Thierry Lefrançois, veterinarian, expert at the Organization for Research and International Cooperation (CIRAD) and member of the scientific council. Because the figures are clear: 75% of infectious diseases emerging in humans today are of animal origin.
Will it eventually be necessary to vaccinate certain animals against Covid?
For now, the question does not arise primarily because there is no officially authorized vaccine for animals. Some felines or monkeys have received an injection in zoos, but on an experimental basis.
In addition, the contamination of dogs or cats by their sick owner remains sporadic for the moment, the National Agency for Food and Environmental Health Safety (ANSES) clearly wrote in a report last March: in the state of scientific knowledge, there is no proof that pets can play a vector role in the spread of the virus.