In the identity document of our once beloved dog Bo, may she rest in peace near the Beloved One, it is written that she was vaccinated already some years ago against Corona. Is this some dog Corona not mean to people? I have this question already some time in mind.
1 Answer
Corona virus is a genus or group of several viruses that have similar properties. They all have a "crown" of tiny spikes around their outer shell, which gave them their name (corona = latin for crown).
The most commonly known corona virus right now is SARS-CoV-2 which causes the desease called COVID-19. But even the common cold can be caused by a corona virus, just a different one than SARS-CoV-2.
Wikipedia writes abour the common cold:
Although the common cold is usually caused by rhinoviruses, in about 15% of cases the cause is a coronavirus. The human coronaviruses HCoV-OC43, HCoV-HKU1, HCoV-229E, and HCoV-NL63 continually circulate in the human population in adults and children worldwide and produce the generally mild symptoms of the common cold.
Corona viruses can infect birds and mammals, including dogs. So if your dog was vaccinated against a type of corona virus, it was like a flue shot and protected her against a different type of corona virus than SARS-CoV-2.
There are two different coronaviruses that infect dogs. Canine coronavirus (CCoV), which is a member of the species Alphacoronavirus 1, causes mild gastrointestinal disease. Canine respiratory coronavirus (CRCoV), which is a member of the species Betacoronavirus 1 and related to HCoV-OC43, cause respiratory disease. (Source)
There is a vaccine available (ATCvet code: QI07AD11 (WHO)), and it is usually given to puppies, who are more susceptible to canine coronavirus, and to dogs that have a high risk of exposure, such as show dogs. (Source)
