THERE was no disease that resulted from a coronavirus that jumped from animal hosts to humans a few years ago in Sarawak, said a virologist.

David Perera, who is director of the Institute of Health Community Medicine of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), said canine coronavirus is very common among animals, including pet cats, and a virus jump from animals to humans is also “nothing new” and “nothing to be concerned about”.

However, he said what would be of concern is when the jump results in a deadly disease.

“Researchers, in their report, say there is still no proof of whether the virus can be passed from human to human and whether it is capable of causing human diseases. Therefore, more study is needed,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

He was commenting on a report, which caused a stir among the public that was released last week.

Researchers from Ohio State University, Duke University, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Sibu Hospital and Segi University had found the new coronavirus when testing on swab samples collected from 301 patients hospitalised for pneumonia in Sibu Hospital from 2017 to 2018.

Eight of the samples were found to be positive for a canine coronavirus.

Apart from a 37-year-old, the ages of those who tested positive ranged from five-and-a-half months old to four-and-a-half years.

They resided in Sibu, Bintulu, Daro and Julau, and generally recovered after up to six days of hospitalisation, according to the report.

The researchers have called this new “canine coronavirus” CcoV-HuPn-2018 and it is different from SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that caused the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic.

Perera said the report came as no surprise to him as he is well aware of the research.

“I knew the authors (of the report). It’s not something very surprising.”

However, he questioned the timing of its release.

He said it was “a little sensational” and believe it was to gain publicity with the current pandemic.

“You know it gets people’s attention when reading a canine coronavirus transferring to humans during this Covid-19 situation.”

Perera said canine coronavirus – a gastrointestinal ailment – is “very common” among animals and there are vaccines to treat it.

“It’s available at all vets,” he says. – May 30, 2021.