猫能感染新冠病毒吗？
燕山大学 刘立军 供稿
TRANSCRIPT
This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Wayt Gibbs.
The COVID-19 pandemic has a lot of people stuck at home with their cats - which raises some obvious questions: Can cats catch the new coronavirus from their owners? Can cats spread the disease to each other? And can people get infected by their cats?
Scientists have been so busy studying human-to-human transmission of the virus that few, so far, have looked at how it may be able to spread among cats and the humans they live with. But a few preliminary reports within the past few days suggest that cats can catch COVID-19, probably from humans, and then give it to other cats.
On April 5, the Bronx Zoo announced that four tigers and three lions have developed symptoms of the disease. Scientists at Cornell University and the USDA tested samples from one of the tigers and confirmed that it was infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. And researchers at the University of Illinois looked at the samples and found that the virus in the tiger was genetically indistinguishable from strains seen in humans.
So the tiger must have caught this from a zookeeper - which is a little surprising. I mean, I would think six feet would be a minimum safe distance from a tiger under any circumstance. But perhaps someone coughed on her food.
COVID-19 doesn't seem to be limited to big cats, either. Two research groups in China recently published studies on house cats in Wuhan and young cats raised in a lab. These preprints have not yet been peer-reviewed, and this is very early science that may well change with further study. That said, their findings are worrisome.
The Wuhan study did blood tests on 102 cats there to see whether any had antibodies to SAR-CoV-2, which would mean that they had been infected with the virus at some point. Fifteen percent of the cats tested positive. Three of those had been living with people who were diagnosed with COVID-19. The rest of the cats were strays or had been in pet hospitals.
The authors write that "immediate action should be implemented to keep a suitable distance between humans and companion animals such as cats, and strict hygiene and quarantine measures should also be carried out for these animals."
In a second study, scientists at a high-containment lab for animal diseases control in Harbin, China, deliberately squirted coronavirus into the noses of cats and other kinds of animals to see whether they became infected. In some good news, they did not see the virus taking hold in dogs, pigs, chickens or ducks. But it did replicate rapidly the respiratory tracts of both cats and ferrets.
Within a few days after infection, all of the cats they inoculated started shedding virus in their feces. The researchers placed an uninfected cat in a cage adjacent to each infected one. One third of those healthy cats then caught the virus from their sick neighbors.
So far, the CDC says, there is no evidence that people can catch COVID-19 from their cats. But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. So until it's clearer whether the virus can leap back from cats to their owners, it would seem smart to keep your cats indoors, to wear gloves and a mask when changing the litter box and to avoid kissing or rubbing noses with your little snookums.
Thanks for listening for Scientific American's 60-second Science. I'm Wayt Gibbs.
VOCABULARY
1. indistinguishable (from sth.): if two things are indistinguishable , or one is indistinguishable from
the other, it is impossible to see any differences between them 无法分辨的；无法区分的。例如：
The male of the species is almost indistinguishable from the female. 这个物种的雄性和雌性几
乎无法分辨。
2. strain n. a particular type of plant or animal, or of a disease caused by bacteria, etc. （动、植物的）
系，品系，品种；（疾病的）类型。例如：This is only one of the many strains of the disease.
这种病有许多类型，这只是其中之一。
3. preprint n. 出版前的非正式样本; 预刊本
4. worrisome adj. (especially North American English) that makes you worry 令人担心的；使人担
忧的
5. antibody v. a substance that the body produces in the blood to fight disease, or as a reaction when certain substances are put into the body 抗体（血液中抵抗疾病或当某些物质进入身体时产生反应的物质）
6. stray n. an animal that has got lost or separated from its owner or that has no owner 走失的宠物（或家畜）；无主的宠物（或家畜）
7. replicate v. (formal) to copy sth. exactly 复制
8. ferret n. a small aggressive animal with a long thin body, kept for chasing rabbits from their holes, killing rats , etc. 雪貂（身体细长，用以猎兔、捕鼠等）
9. inoculate v. to protect a person or an animal from catching a particular disease by injecting them with a mild form of the disease （给……）接种，打预防针
10. feces n. 粪，屎
11. snookums: (用于称呼小孩或心爱的人) 亲爱的
QUESTIONS
Read the statements. Then listen to the news and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F).
1. A few preliminary reports within the past few days suggest that cats can catch COVID-19 from humans.
2. On April 5, the Bronx Zoo announced that three tigers and four lions have developed symptoms of the disease.
3. Scientists at Cornell University and the USDA tested samples from one of the lions and confirmed that it was infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
4. Six feet would be a minimum safe distance from a tiger under any circumstance.
5. COVID-19 seems to be limited to big cats.
6. Recently, three research groups in China published studies on house cats in Wuhan and young cats raised in a lab.
7. The Harbin study did blood tests on 102 cats to see whether any had antibodies to SAR-CoV-2.
8. According to the USDA, there is no evidence that people can catch COVID-19 from their cats.
KEY
Read the statements. Then listen to the news and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F).
(F) 1. A few preliminary reports within the past few days suggest that cats can catch COVID-19 from humans.（正确表达）A few preliminary reports within the past few days suggest that cats can probably catch COVID-19 from humans.
(F) 2. On April 5, the Bronx Zoo announced that three tigers and four lions have developed symptoms of the disease.（正确表达）On April 5, the Bronx Zoo announced that four tigers and three lions have developed symptoms of the disease.
(F) 3. Scientists at Cornell University and the USDA tested samples from one of the lions and confirmed that it was infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.（正确表达）Scientists at Cornell University and the USDA tested samples from one of the tigers and confirmed that it was infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
(T) 4. Six feet would be a minimum safe distance from a tiger under any circumstance.
(F) 5. COVID-19 seems to be limited to big cats. （正确表达）COVID-19 doesn't seem to be limited to big cats.
(F) 6. Recently, three research groups in China published studies on house cats in Wuhan and young cats raised in a lab.（正确表达） Recently, two research groups in China published studies on house cats in Wuhan and young cats raised in a lab.
(F) 7. The Harbin study did blood tests on 102 cats to see whether any had antibodies to SAR-CoV-2. （正确表达）The Wuhan study did blood tests on 102 cats to see whether any had antibodies to SAR-CoV-2.
(F) 8. According to the USDA, there is no evidence that people can catch COVID-19 from their cats. （正确表达） According to the CDC, there is no evidence that people can catch COVID-19 from their cats.
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