If dogs can contract SARS-CoV-2, why haven’t more dogs tested positive? NEWStat: One of the most frustrating things about COVID and companion animals is that even though less than half a dozen dogs in the world have been officially diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2, pet owners are still worried that their dog could get it. This single mutation weakens the binding of ACE2 by the spike protein of, the virus that causes COVID-19. Graham Dellaire : Dogs have a mutation in the ACE2 receptor at a single amino acid, one of the building blocks of the ACE2 protein. NEWStat: In a nutshell, why are cats susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and not dogs? NEWStat reached out to coauthors Graham Dellaire, PhD, a professor of pathology at Dalhousie University, and Sabateeshan Mathavarajah, a doctoral student in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Dalhousie, to find out more. So are ferrets.ĭogs, bears, pigs, chickens, and ducks are not. That seems to apply to all cats, large and small: the researchers determined that, along with cats, a number of different feline species-cheetahs, leopards, tigers, and lions-are likely to be susceptible to the virus.
Dogs have a mutation in their ACE2 that gives them a natural resistance to the novel coronavirus. In other words, during SARS-CoV-2 infection, the virus targets the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 protein ( ACE2). Researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, published a study in which the authors write: “A single genetic change in the host receptor for the virus inherited in cats, but not dogs, correlates with feline susceptibility.” While a few noted dogs have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, no dogs have been diagnosed with COVID-19 to date. A couple of Canadian researchers may have figured out why cats get COVID and dogs don’t: a mutation in the gene that provides a vector for the novel coronavirus.
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