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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected animals directly and indirectly. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is zoonotic, which likely to have originated from animals such as bats and pangolins. [1] [2] [3] [better source needed] Human impact on wildlife and animal habitats may be causing such spillover events to become much more likely.
SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, was first introduced to humans through zoonosis (transmission of a pathogen to a human from an animal), and a zoonotic spillover event is the origin of SARS-CoV-2 that is considered most plausible by the scientific community.
Due to the mink ACE2 receptor being a similar or better fit for SARS-CoV-2 compared to humans and the cramped living conditions of farm-raised animals, mink readily transmit SARS-CoV-2 to one another and develop symptoms of COVID-19. [6]
An August 2023 study appeared to confirm this assertion, showing high SARS-CoV-2 deer positivity not only in urbanized areas but in rural counties with less likelihood of human-to-deer transmission. The same study also noted that SARS-CoV-2 evolves at an accelerated pace in white-tailed deer, at triple the rate of viral evolution in humans.
Dozens of captive animal species have been found infected or proven able to be experimentally infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The virus has also been found in over a dozen wild animal species. Most animal species that can get the virus have not been proven to be able to spread it back to humans.
The COVID-19 vaccines are widely credited for their role in reducing the severity and death caused by COVID-19. [ 128 ] [ 129 ] As of March 2023, more than 5.5 billion people had received one or more doses [ 130 ] (11.8 billion in total) in over 197 countries.
COVID-19 is considered by scientists to be "of probable animal origin". [45] It has been classified as a zoonotic disease (naturally transmissible from animals to humans). Some scientists dispute this classification, since a natural reservoir has not been confirmed.
The COVID-19 vaccine, known now as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or AZD1222, makes use of this vector, which stimulates an immune response against the coronavirus spike protein. [12] [13] Animal studies began in March 2020, and recruitment of 510 human participants for a phase I/II trial began on 27 March, [17] [18] [19] and the results were presented in ...