COVID-19 infections in pets such as cats and dogs

Öz

Coronaviruses are a very large group of virus families that can cause diseases in both different animal species and humans. Infections with different coronaviruses are seen in cats and dogs. The epidemic due to COVID-19 infection and its etiological agent SARS-CoV-2, which is a coronavirus, continues to spread very rapidly all over the world. In this article, we aimed to compile published studies on COVID-19 infections in cats and dogs, which we are in close contact with. When the studies were examined, it was understood that cats were more sensitive to SARS-CoV-2 than dogs after contact with COVID-19 positive individuals in quarantine. Cats may show symptoms in case of infection, compared to dogs. The RBD region where SARS-CoV-2 binds to ACE2 receptors is reported more similar to humans in cats than dogs. ACE2 protein seemed very similar to humans in both cats and dogs compared to other mammals. ACE2 receptor is highly expressed in different tissues of them, according to the study data examined. In a conclusion, SARS-CoV-2 can be detected because ACE2 is frequently expressed in different tissues in domestic animals such as cats and dogs, and the binding site is similar to human ACE2 receptors. In order to prevent zoonotic infections such as COVID-19 infections during the epidemic period when different disciplines need to work together with a single health approach, we believe that molecular surveillance studies should be carried out on our close friends such as cats and dogs. The data should be presented in public database and followed.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• SARS-CoV-2
• COVID-19
• Cat
• Dog
• Coronaviruses

Kedi ve köpek gibi evcil hayvanlarda COVID-19 enfeksiyonları

Öz

Koronavirüsler, hem farklı hayvan türlerinde, hem de insanlarda hastalıklara neden olabilen çok geniş bir virüs ailesi grubudur. Kedi ve köpeklerde farklı koronavirüslerle enfeksiyonlar görülmektedir. COVID-19 enfeksiyonuna bağlı salgın ve bir koronavirüs olan etkeni SARS-CoV-2 tüm dünyada halen çok hızlı yayılmaya devam etmektedir. Bu derlemede insanlarla yakın temasta bulunan evcil hayvanlar kedi ve köpeklerde COVID-19 enfeksiyonları ile ilgili yayınlanan çalışmaların değerlendirilmesi amaçlandı. Yapılan çalışmalar incelendiğinde, karantinadaki COVID-19 pozitif bireylerle temasları sonrası kedilerin, SARS-CoV-2’ye köpeklere göre daha duyarlı olduğu anlaşılmaktadır. Kediler enfeksiyon durumunda köpeklere göre semptom gösterebilmektedir. SARS-CoV-2’nin ACE2 reseptörlerine bağlandığı RBD bölgesinin, kedilerde köpeklere kıyasla insanlara daha fazla benzerlik gösterdiği bildirilmiştir. Diğer memelilere göre hem kedi, hem de köpeklerde ACE2 proteini insanlara oldukça benzer olduğu görülmüştür. İncelenen çalışma verilerine göre, kedi ve köpeklerin farklı dokularında ACE2 reseptörü yüksek oranda eksprese edilmektedir. Sonuç olarak, SARS-CoV-2 kedi ve köpek gibi evcil hayvanlarda ACE2’nin farklı dokularında sıklıkla eksprese edilmesi ayrıca bağlanma bölgesinin insan ACE2 reseptörlerine benzer olmaları dolayısıyla tespit edilebilmektedir. Tek sağlık yaklaşımı ile farklı disiplinlerin birlikte çalışması gereken salgın döneminde COVID-19 enfeksiyonları gibi zoonotik enfeksiyonların önlenebilmesi için kedi ve köpek gibi yakın dostlarımızda moleküler surveyans çalışmalarının yapılması ve verilerin açık veritabanlarında sunularak takiplerinin yapılması gerektiği kanaatindeyiz.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• SARS-CoV-2
• COVID-19
• Kedi
• Köpek

Kaynakça

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