A disco ball with snouts or cuter version of germs: What does the coronavirus look like?

The World Health Organization (WHO) for the longest time believed that coronavirus cannot infect pets like dogs or cats.

In less than a month, several reports of various animals contracting the diseases made the WHO pause and think about their stance. The reports suggest that this deadly virus can break the species barrier and move around.

WHO's intergovernmental animal health body - World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) - confirmed that there is a possibility that some animals can get infected through close contact with infected humans.

OIE said that studies are under way to understand the issue better and that it is still too early to say whether pets could be the intermediate host in the transmission of the COVID-19.

While they are urging anyone who has become sick to limit contact with pets, we look at all the animals who contracted the disease from humans.

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Warning! This might upset all dog lovers out there.

The first animal in the world to test positive for coronavirus was a 17-year-old dog which had to be kept under mandatory quarantine in Hong Kong since February 26. The news got grim when the owner revealed that the canine passed away on March 16 - less than a week after he was declared Covid-19-free and released from the government facility.

He was sent home after testing negative, but it was not clear if the virus was the reason for the animal's death. The 60-year-old owner, who also recovered from her Covid journey after being in quarantine, had refused an autopsy of his pet to determine cause of death.

The Pomeranian had been through five tests and all returned 'weak positive' for the new virus.

The last two tests - carried out on March 12 and 13 - 'proved the dog's samples were negative'.

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Days after the death of the world's first animal detected with Covid-19, another case emerged in Hong Kong, again, where a German Shepherd living in the Pok Fu Lam area had tested positive for coronavirus during a screening campaign.

While the dog was asymptomatic, his mixed-breed sibling who was living in the same house had tested negative. Both canines were put under quarantine along with their owner who had tested positive as well.

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During a screening campaign carried out on 17 dogs and eight cats living in contact with people carrying the virus, where two canines tested positive, other pets animals like a cat and three dogs were also placed at the animal keeping facility in Hong Kong.

Apart from the Pomeranian which died, the other three animals - an exotic shorthair cat, a Shiba Inu and a mongrel - were also tested negative for the deadly virus, according to reports.

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Coronavirus didn't spare the felines. In late March, a pet cat was found infected with Covid-19 in Belgium, and it was believed that it contracted the virus from the people it was living with. The corona cat suffered from transitory respiratory and digestive problems after contracting the infection.

To shock you further, the Chinese researchers from Harbin Veterinary Research Institute revealed in a study that cats are not only susceptible to contracting the deadly virus, but could also pass it on to other cats.

However, the study said that other animals such as dogs (despite two known positive cases worldwide), chicken and pigs weren't susceptible like ferrets and cats.

Back home, in an interesting development, authorities have even warmed up to feline lovers. In Kerala, the High Court on April 6 allowed a permit to a cat owner to drive around town in his car amid lockdown to buy food (seven kg biscuits) for his pets.

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Another resident of the cat family, a 4-year-old female Malayan tiger, Nadia, tested positive for the novel coronavirus on April 6. The tigress, who lives at the Bronx Zoo in New York with six other big cats, is said to have contracted the deadly virus by an asymptomatic zoo keeper.

Nadia's sister, Azul, and two Amur tigers had also developed a dry cough and loss of appetite.

This case came as a shocker as this was believed to be the first known case of an animal infected with COVID-19 in the US, raising questions about human-to-animal transmission of the virus.

Along with the 4-year-old Nadia, three African lions had also developed a dry cough and decrease in appetite. While they did not contract the virus, it was reported that they were expected to recover soon.

The deep-chested cats were put under veterinary care, and were seen bright, alert and interactive with the zookeepers at the Bronx Zoo in New York.

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A disco ball with snouts or cuter version of germs: What does the coronavirus look like?

Seeing is not only believing, but also driving home that mask-use can stop Covid-19.

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