'Pigs Can Also Be Infected with COVID-19,' According to Overseas Research Results

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Overseas research results have shown that pigs can also contract the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 13th, researchers from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Iowa State University in the United States announced research findings that the COVID-19 virus can survive for at least 13 days in pig tissue cells.

The paper was published on the 11th on BioRxiv (biorxiv.org), a preprint server for peer-reviewed academic papers. According to the paper, the researchers injected the COVID-19 virus into 16 healthy Yorkshire pigs, and about 30% showed positive reactions, including asymptomatic infections. Immediately after the virus injection, the pigs showed symptoms of tears and nasal discharge for three days, and one pig exhibited coughing and mild depression.

Other than this, the pigs showed no significant symptoms, and swab, blood, and bodily fluid tests all came back negative. Subsequently, the researchers euthanized the experimental pigs and examined their organs, but no damage related to COVID-19 infection was confirmed.

However, coronavirus was detected in the tissue cells under the pigs’ tongues. The researchers confirmed that these cells rapidly proliferated in bacterial culture dishes (Petri dishes). Additionally, some blood samples from the pigs showed the presence of COVID-19 antibodies.

Earlier in May, Chinese researchers conducted large-scale coronavirus experiments on livestock and concluded that pigs cannot contract COVID-19. The current researchers stated that they injected ten times more virus into the pigs’ noses and throats compared to previous experiments.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.