According to the Beijing News, on the morning of the 28th, Ms. Liu, a confirmed case in Nangang District, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, asked for help on a social platform that she was a confirmed COVID-19 patient and was actively cooperating with the treatment in the hospital, and her symptoms were relieved. On the 27th, she learned from the community staff that three cats she had tested positive and would be euthanized.
The staff in the community where Ms. Liu is located said that the local animal epidemic prevention department had previously performed two anal swab tests on the cat, and the test results were all positive. "At present, there is indeed no professional treatment for animals. Based on these two test results, we notify the cat owner that the disease control department will euthanize the cat."
The above-mentioned staff said that if the cat is not treated, the cat owner's living environment will always be positive, "The positive one is She must not come back to live in the living environment, and her unit and even the entire community cannot come back to live in, so the epidemic will never end."
Feng Zijian, deputy director of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, introduced that there is little experience in dealing with animals infected with the new coronavirus. For cats, the time and detoxification methods of cats are not yet clear. After cats detoxify, it is difficult to completely disinfect them in the family. If the cats continue to carry the virus, there will be a risk of transmission, so the treatment process needs to be cautious. Feng Zijian said that continuous testing of cats can be seen to see if they are continuously positive. If they are continuously positive, they must be euthanized.
According to Article 42 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, infectious diseases will be prevented and controlled in accordance with the prevention and control plan. If necessary, infected wild animals, livestock and poultry can be controlled or culled.