SARS COV-2 IN ANIMALS

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Recently, the first few cases have been reported of cats and dogs being infected with the so-called “UK variant” of the coronavirus.

Concept :

It is of great concern that some of the infected animals have also been diagnosed with a heart condition known as

What is Myocarditis?

It is an inflammation of the heart muscle.
It decreases the ability of the heart to pump blood normally.
The myocardium muscle is responsible for contracting and relaxing to pump blood in and out of the heart and to the rest of the body.
It can be caused by a number of factors, including a viral infection.
The severity of symptoms varies i.e. in extreme cases, the patients of myocarditis can suddenly lose consciousness or show signs of heart failure.

The potential culprits of causing Myocarditis are:

Viruses: They are one of the most common causes of infectious myocarditis.
The most common viruses to cause myocarditis include Coxsackievirus group B (an enterovirus), Human Herpes Virus 6, and Parvovirus B19 (which causes fifth disease).
Bacteria: It can also result from infection with Staphylococcus aureus or Corynebacteriumdiptheriae.
Staphylococcus aureus is the bacterium that can cause impetigo and be a methicillin resistant strain (MRSA).
Corynebacteriumdiptheriae is the bacterium that causes diphtheria, an acute infection that destroys tonsils and throat cells.
Fungi: Yeast infections, molds, and other fungi can sometimes cause myocarditis.

Connection between Myocarditis and COVID-19

The UK paper does not establish the coronavirus infection as the cause for myocarditis in the animals.
It notes that among people, myocarditis associated with multisystem inflammatory syndrome is a well-recognised complication of Covid-19.
The UK animals were diagnosed with myocarditis first, and the virus infection later.