Seoul Discovers First Case Of Coronavirus Infection In Pets

Cat illustration. (Emre / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Seoul City Government, South Korea announced that a cat living with a family got infected with the coronavirus. It was exposed to the virus after undergoing a test.

The 5-year-old female cat was tested last Saturday after she developed a number of symptoms, including vomiting and lethargy.

On Sunday's test, it was positive. The pet cat was immediately sent to a city-run animal welfare center for quarantine, according to a local government statement.

"The cat is being treated at animal welfare center because the owners have all tested positive and can not look after it", a city official told Koreatimes.

It is known that the Seoul City Government has tested three dogs and one cat since the pet testing program began Monday last week.

The country's first COVID-19 case involving a pet was reported in a kitten in the southeastern city of Jinju last month.

"The cat in Seoul appears to have a mild case of COVID-19 and can be released before the 14-day quarantine period ends if it stopped showing symptoms and tested negative in subsequent tests", the Seoul Municipal Government said.

The Seoul City Government added, although there was no evidence that the coronavirus could be transmitted from animals to humans. However, people are expected to keep their pets at least 2 meters away from people or other animals, especially dogs when they bring them for a walk.