First Feline Coronavirus Infection Detected in Belgium

The first positive Coronavirus case in a cat emerges in Belgium.

Liège, Belgium saw the first case in the world of a member of the feline species being infected with COVID-19.
“The cat had diarrhea, kept vomiting and had breathing difficulties. The researchers found the virus in the cat’s feces,” professor Steven Van Gucht said Friday.

It’s likely that the cat was infected by her owner, Van Gucht said. Although the WHO insists that there is no evidence that the disease can be transmitted from a pet to a human, Belgium’s National Council for Animal Protection advised owners to “not rub their nose against their pets.”

So far, only two dogs and the Belgian cat have tested positive for the virus, while agencies and health officials around the world urge people to not abandon their animals, as the risk of animal-to-human transmission is “very small.”

Belgian officials, however, confirmed more than human 7,000 cases in the country, with close to 300 deaths, as the fight against the Coronavirus and its spread globally continues.