Can cats originate the coming pandemic? Can they spread Covid-19? Scientists consider coronavirus originates from animal, even though they have not been able to source the culprit yet. But, many of them have also warned epidemics of this kind may become common in the future, because of contacts with wild fauna and livestock.
To prepare to such possibilities, scientists from the Liverpool university (England) have designed an artificial intelligence able to spot animals likely to originate deadly and highly contagious virus to humans.
Following this experimentation, searchers have released a study in February 2021 in Nature Communications. It shows that among potentially dangerous animals sit cats, minks, hedgehogs, wild rabbits, and even bats.
One of the scientists involved in the study, virologist Marcus Blagrove explained the study to the BBC. “We want to know where the next coronavirus might come from. One way they're generated is through recombination between two existing coronaviruses - so two viruses infect the same cell and they recombine into a 'daughter' virus that would be an entirely new strain."
In the Nature Communications article, scientists say there are “over 30-fold more potential SARS-CoV-2 recombination hosts, and over 40-fold more host species with four or more different subgenera of coronaviruses than have been observed to date”. They conclude the number of wild animals and pets that may originate a new pandemic has been dangerously underestimated.
To identify these likely threats, the team of scientists has downloaded biological data on known viruses and mammals into an artificial intelligence. The latter then calculated the probability for each species of mammal to catch the virus, as well as which species can be a host for several coronaviruses. Result: 126 potential hosts have been identified.
Among them, and to our deepest regret, cats. These small and oh-so sweet and enjoyable animals can host – according to the algorithm – 65 coronaviruses, including Sars-CoV-2 (also known as Covid-19).
With such a high risk, cats sit at the top of the list of potential threats. But do not panic, Blagrove reassures us explaining that all they do is identifying “potential high-risk species, which we recommend for coronavirus surveillance”.
His peer and main study author Maya Wardeh admits on France 24 that these results do not necessarily mean each animal listed is to become viral hazard. “This does not mean that you should stop petting your cat! Obviously, these conclusions are not 100% correct”, the searcher says. This study simply enables to list animals to keep an eye on. Moreover, all coronaviruses are not deadly: some are not more dangerous than a cold.
