This claim is currently making the rounds on the internet: According to a study theorized by a team of Italian scientists, those who have a dog as a pet or have contact with a bovine may have a lower risk of contracting Covid-19!
This paper refers to the possibility of so-called cross-immunities and the theoretical possibility that the bovine coronavirus (cattle) and the canine coronavirus (dog) carry very similar spikes on the surface, although they are otherwise only slightly related.
One hypothesis is that because of the up to 40% similarity in the spike proteins (these are the funny poxes on the outside of the virus and are important for docking with the cell) there could be a basic level of immunity when there is close contact to dogs and cattle and therefore also to their coronaviruses.
BUT, so far it has only been possible to grow a bit of virus from cattle and dogs on human cell cultures in the laboratory and transmission has not yet been proven or described in real life. In addition, this would only apply to dogs and cattle that have previously been infected with the bovine (cow) or canine (dog) coronavirus. And only if you cuddle could cross-immunity possibly arise!
That's why the last sentence here is very important:
Caution is also warranted when evaluating data based solely on sequence homology, and further studies with purified forms of the spike proteins and/or their epitopes are encouraged. In other words, the whole thing is a nice approach and important to research, but there is no proof or indication that someone who is in contact with a dog or a cow can have milder symptoms of Covid-19.
[mk_ad]
Additionally, the Harbin study (see our updated article on pets) tends to rule out in vivo transmission to dogs, just as it does to pigs, for example.
To put it bluntly: This study is another piece of the puzzle on the big table of Corona research; you cannot see or say anything about it - a single piece of the puzzle does not reveal the entire motive.
However, such information may be important for research into a vaccine, which is why everything is currently being published directly and put out as a pre-print without checking. At the moment, the researchers for whom such publications are intended have to see for themselves how plausible, correct or appropriate it is. The media, which also reads these publications, apparently cannot deal with this way of working in science and trumpets every irrelevant or meaningless detail as breaking news, accompanied by an acute lack of context.
Sources and references:
L' UMG è in prima linea nella ricerca sul Coronavirus
Molecular basis of COVID-19 relationships in different species: a one health perspective
Is COVID-19 receiving ADE from other coronaviruses?
Authors: Veterinary practice Anke Meeuw and Rüdiger Reinhardt
Article image: Mimikama
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )