David GrimmScience’s COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Heising-Simons Foundation.The variants of SARS-CoV-2 that keep emerging aren’t just a human problem.
Two reports released this week have found the first evidence that dogs and cats can become infected by B.1.1.7, a recent variant of the pandemic coronavirus that transmits more readily between people and also appears more lethal in them.
The finds mark the first time one of the several major variants of concern has been seen outside of humans.B.1.1.7 was first identified in the United Kingdom and that’s where some of the variant-infected pets were found.
The U.K. animals suffered myocarditis—an inflammation of the heart tissue that, in serious cases, can cause heart failure. But the.