IMPACT OF COVID -19 ON ANIMALS
Anshu Rahal1 and
Yanshi2
College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences
G.B.Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar
Uttarakhand, India
1Associate Professor, Deptt of Animal Nutrition:
2 B.V.Sc & A.H.4th year student
Email:anshurahal@rediffmail.com
INTRODUCTION:
Present coronavirus is contagious virus having been originated from wet market of Wuhan in China. It is supposed that human consumed pangolin (which was contaminated by bat) which further lead to spread of virus in human race. Livestock ,in India contributes about 30% to agricultural gross domestic products(₹9 trillion ),so call for research has been emphasized to study impact of this virus on animal, food security, infection transmission from human to animal and vice-versa and economy of country. Humans are self-isolating while wild life is roaming freely. Information gathered till now indicates less risk of spreading infection from animals (birds, pets, domestic/wild animal) to human. Reports indicate that corona virus symptoms are detectable in dog earlier than humans. Under certain situations, this virus can spread from human to animal. SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, spreads through respiratory droplets through sneezing, coughing and talking. Other viruses found in human like H1N1 influenza and SARS-CoV-1 can spread in low number from human to animals like ferrets, cats and pig. In this article effect of covid-19 on animals and precautions needed during animal care have been discussed.
RISK OF INFECTION:
(a) Pets: Feline and canine coronaviruses do affect animals but not humans. Cats, dogs, and a few other types of animals can be infected with zoonotic SARS-CoV-2. But infection with COVID -19 is still doubtful. Cats (in Catalonia, Honking, Belgium) and dogs (Pomeranian and German shepherd), in some cases have been found positive with COVID-19 viruses by coming in contact with infected owners. Infected pets, although mildly sick, recovered fully or did not show symptoms at all. It is supposed that if virus affects military service dogs the national security will be in danger as this virus impairs sensing smell which is of prime importance for tracking and in detection of explosives and narcotics. In one study dog was found to be infected but incapable of passing infection to other dogs.
(b)Livestock: Some coronaviruses are causative agent of illness in cattle, bats and camels while in humans it shows cold like symptoms. Transmissible gastroenteritis virus, porcine respiratory virus (swine), infectious bronchitis (poultry, equine) and bovine coronaviruses are of immense importance being contagious within group but do not cross the species. Cattle coronaviruses are very common but do not cause illness in people. No report till now has indicated COVID-19 infection in livestock species including horse and its transmission from human to farm animals. Zoonotic diseases like brucellosis, rabies, ringworm, salmonellosis, tuberculosis, Q-fever and cryptosporidiosis can easily cross barrier of species in absence of hygiene and biosecurity. High chances of infection are there if animals or their products may be cause of gathering of people.
(c)Wild Animals: Confirmed case of coronavirus has been reported in Malayan tiger (+4 years age, Nadia) at Bronx Zoo in New York due to close contact through infected zoo keeper in form of dry coughing. SARS-COV2 symptoms in form of respiratory problem had appeared in lions (3 cases) and tigers (5 cases) who fully recovered later. Similarly SARS-COV-2 was found in mink (related to ferrets) in Netherlands as respiratory and gastro-intestinal disorders which ended in death of animal. But later, it was found that COVID -19 infection symptoms were in some workers and it was suspected that COVID-19 may be cause of mortality in mink as antibody developed in mink to the virus which usually take place on exposure to infection. Recently cases on infection in mink have been reported from Spain and Westerbeek near German border. In some states CDC, USDA, animal health officials and State public health officials are engaged in surveillance activity to find whether coronavirus infected person may be source of infection of SARS-COV-2 in pets and mammals and its transmission. Research findings indicate that cats, ferrets, golden hamsters, Rhesus macaques, African green monkeys, cynomolgus macaques are capable of getting infected with virus and spread infection among same species under laboratory conditions while mice, chicken, duck and pigs are unable to do so.
Effect of COVID-19 on
(a)Food supply: Due to national lockdown, zoo had to be closed. Animals like gorilla, meerkats and otters are not been looked after seriously and becoming sick although every day these animals waited for human presence as earlier used to be for appointments. Monkey, gulls, rats and ducks roamed in search of food that mostly relied on humans to meet their hunger. Ban on movement of trucks carrying feed and fodder supply between inter and intrastate caused food crisis for animals. In absence of customers for sale of their agricultural produce farmers were forced to offer fruits (grapes, strawberries), expensive flowers (gladioli, gerbera, tulips) and broccoli (iceberg lettuce, basil, and bok-choy) to cattle. In absence of feed, farmers were forced to offer reduced feed amount to their animals. In India, proper cooking is done of meat and eggs before consumption compared to other countries where raw intake of various animals is in practice in unhygienic conditions, promoting zoonotic diseases. Rumors about virus spread through animal products like egg and meat lead to reduced consumption in India causing distress for poultry business workers working all 24 hoursx7 days per year. Some were forced to sell chicken in free or at very low price. In absence of customers, purchasing power decreased of farmers, so animal starving was commonly noticed. Animal lovers like Ms Sanjukta Lal used to prepare rice and chicken for street dogs in Puducherry. Bodhi shop’s COVID-19 Fodder Drive’ under dairy startup came as a relief for many animals at farms and gaushala in Mumbai.
(b)Behavior: During early lock down period, public places peaceful reclamation tempted animals to come out of their habitat. Animals like Sambar deer, elephant (spotted in streets of Uttarakhand), Nilgai(Noida),Small Indian civet(Kerala’s Kozhikode),Olive Ridley turtles(beach of Orissa),Bison(Karnataka),peacocks(Mumbai),leopard(Bihar),bird species( Chernobyl nuclear plant site in Northern Ukraine),Wild Turkey( California),Coyote(San Francisco) Deer(Poland), wild pigs (France),Wild boar(Spain) emboldened goats ( the streets of Wales), hedgehogs(UK), puma(chile),dolphin(Italy) came out of their normal habitat.
© Health and reproduction: SPCA International started fund raising in order to provide shelter for animals which were abandoned intentionally as owner got infected or due to death of owner or unable to fed for becoming jobless. Contrary to this, covid time has also proved to be a boon for some animals like in case of panda in Ocean Park in HongKong. The quiet environment resulted in successful pregnancy through natural mating in Ying Ying (resident panda) although attempts were being made from last 10 years. Similarly, in India due to empty beaches, about 60 million eggs have been deposited and hatched of baby Olive Ridley Sea turtle.
(d)Business: Due to COVID-19, increase in poaching of endangered species (black rhinos in Botswana Okavango Delta), wild cats (including jaguars and pumas in Columbia), tigers (India) has been noted in absence of tourists/human movement in remote areas. Consumption of Bush meat increased in Africa. Social distancing, restricted movements of people and transport vehicles and stay at home practice in long term is affecting supplies and services in livestock sector, mainly marketing of animals and products. In states like Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab, dairy industry was not much affected as they managed with abrupt labor supply, milking of their animals by milking machines. Moreover the role of Dairy cooperatives was the immense factor for driving of continued milk supply and sale along with regular feed supply for livestock in Gujarat. In this crisis, many organized dairies started procuring less milk from farmer’s end and mostly converted it into cheese, Ice cream and milk powder. But in some areas where private dairies were operating, due to closure of shops, restaurants, hotels, milk sweet shops, marketing was affected. Although there was milk production but no demand. This forced the farmers to dump milk in canal / on road or fed to calves. As no income could be made by selling milk, there was deficit of feed and fodder supply which further aggravated the farmer’s distress. In such conditions animal health deteriorated. Farmers having own marketing mechanism remained unaffected. Styrene gas leak (Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh) and Amphan Cyclone also affected livestock during lockdown. Variation in milk prices was noted in Madhya Pradesh (cow-25-40 and buffalo 30-50 rupees/litre) although easily available. Mainly small farmer who used to prepare ghee and channa for rasgulla preparation and supplied to cities were affected. Lack of supply of input and services by University and Animal Husbandry technical personnel to farmer’s diminished pig and poultry business. Although in early phase of lockdown, backyard poultry faming was severely affected due to supply of germplasm and feed but now it has resumed. Ban on marriage affected livelihood of families dependent on horses and ponies earnings. In long run deficit of feed/dry fodder is going to affect production in northern states like Himachal Pradesh. Local administration helped gujjars in selling milk by products that every year used to migrate to Chamba which this year was recognize as hotspot of COVID-19. Similarly government helped Gaddies (migratory goat and sheep farmers) overcome this crisis with logistics and ration. Export of buffalo meat from India (world’s largest beef exporter) to Malaysia (top consumer) is severely affected in pandemic. Even, milk products manufacture at industrial level was stopped. Lockdown made the farmers realize advantages of farm mechanization.
(e)Humans: COVID -19 has made us to look over and give second thought on our interaction with wild animals since 60% of new emerging diseases are zoonotic in nature. But surprisingly, again we are in search of animal for vaccine development. Demand is on rise to ban wildlife trade. Pets have helped in decreasing depression, stress and anxiety among human.
Owner’s responsibilities:
Plan for disaster like COVID-19 in advance is must by making arrangements for feed, medicine etc. and caretakers in emergency and need to work in team. If person is infected, pet or other livestock should be refrained from coming in contact with infected family member and any other healthy person of family should care for animal during that period. If it’s unavoidable then, person should wear cloth mask covering nose and mouth and wash hands before and after interaction with pet or other animal. Avoid coughing and sneezing over animal. Animals like cats need to be kept indoors as far as possible and not allowed to roam outside freely. If taking dog for walking, use leash and keep them about 2metres away from others on road. Limit animals contact with outside people and animals. Do avoid public places or large gatherings. Avoid covering face of pet as it can cause inconvenience to them. Till now, virus spread through skin, hair or fur of pet to human is not reported, so avoid wiping or bathing of pet with chemical disinfectants, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol etc. Infected person should avoid activities like petting, being kissed/licked, snuggling, and food sharing or sleeping with pet in same bed. If one is infected or hospitalized and his/her animal becomes sick, call veterinarian or ask any other person, instead of yourself taking animal to clinic. Practice healthy habits around animals (especially pets) in time of COVID-19 as they may be carrier of germs for spreading infection. It’s necessary that you wash hands after handling animal and their related items like food, waste or supplies. Good pet hygiene should be followed and clean pets properly. Children below 5 years and persons above 65 have weak immunity, so need special care and their contact with animals should be avoided. Keep extra food, crates medicines and other supplies if need is there to stay home for extended period. Similarly at farm, surplus amount of food, medicine and other items which are required should be kept. All vaccinations of animals like for foot and mouth disease, PPR etc. need to be on time. Animal should have collar or other identification mark, so that it can be easily traced out. In barn, only limited number of people should get entry after thermal scanning and record should be kept. At the gate bucket of soap water and other hand hygiene materials like sanitizer should be available easily. Do not allow entry to sick people(workers, boarders, veterinary staff).Disinfect and clean environmental surfaces by 1% hypochlorite like feed buckets, ropes, cross ties, halters, tack, grooming supplies, hoses, water taps, door handles, wheel barrows, broom handles, shovel, door knobs, countertops, light switches in stall ,barn or poultry house. If there is any abnormal behavior in eating or excretion of faces/urine of animal, separate animal from other stock. Regular deworming needs to be followed. Provide clean food and water along with herbal supplements for increasing immunity. In poultry house, egg handler should be healthy and wear PPE kit and precautions are needed at every step. Extra care is needed while milking animals.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 in long term may have impact on both food and national security. The chances of transmission of disease from domesticated animals to human, cause of community spread needs to be investigated as inactive virus culture has been found in pets although WHO has denied the transmission from cat, dog and other pet to humans. Animal food products quality needs to be assessed and emphasis should be laid on their regular intake to upgrade down falling health of human individuals. Proper care of animals during pandemic will only ensure availability of secure, safe and stable food supply.
