Russian scientists said the risk of the uncontrolled spread of coronavirus birds, insects, and wild and domestic animals. Experts of the Higher school of Economics addressed to the Secretariat of Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova and to the Federation Council and proposed to develop a hazard monitoring system, according to “Izvestia”.
Scientists have noted that the transfer of dangerous infections in the presence of birds, fish, marine mammals and insects. In particular, when the seasonal migrating birds travel great distances, so can carry including the influenza virus, coronaviruses and agents of tick-borne encephalitis, said in an address to Golikova. Also, experts said that China has published a number of reports of infected cats, dogs and bats.
Director of the Institute of ecology, HSE Boris Morgunov said that the pandemic is not the first and not the latter, therefore, requires a systematic and long term approach to the problem. According to him, the absence of expert opinions on the potential spread of the virus in animals and social tensions of the citizens raise to the top of the news “pseudo-scientific messages about the dangers of Pets”.
However, virologists argue that infection with a coronavirus from migratory and urban birds is impossible, despite the fact that birds are often the bearers of their own coronavirus.
Fellow, International center for Virology PFUR Elena Belova said that the majority of coronaviruses were first discovered in the 1930-ies in poultry, but the causative coronavirus infection they belong to the genus Gammacoronavirus and Deltacoronavirus, and the human Betacoronavirus. This means that a person cannot become infected from birds.
With this view agrees the head of the laboratory of biotechnology and Virology of the Novosibirsk state University, corresponding member of RAS Sergey Netesov.
“Recently published work in which it is shown that in domestic chickens and ducks SARS-CoV-2 multiplies very bad. But in cats and ferrets very well. But do not think that it is now spread cats. They do the bulk of Pets, and much more likely, in our latitudes, they were infected people, not Vice versa”, — assured the expert.
Associate Professor physics of living systems MIPT Oleg Batishchev said that city birds almost do not carry viruses dangerous to humans.
Previously, scientists at the University of Glasgow in Scotland found that bats as carriers of coronavirus infections do not pose a greater threat in comparison with other animals that also carry potentially dangerous pathogens.
