Tackling COVID-19: Dr Sarah Caddy

jg533 — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 08:00:13 +0000

This article is part of a series in which we speak to some of the many Cambridge researchers tackling COVID-19. For other articles about our latest COVID-19-related research, click here.

I’m a clinical research fellow and veterinary surgeon in the new Cambridge Institute for Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Diseases (CITIID) on the Biomedical Campus. Over the past few months I have divided my time between CITIID, and volunteering in the Department of Virology as part of the COVID-19 Genomics Consortium.

My initial role in the COVID-19 pandemic was related to diagnostics. I gained experience of testing patient samples for viruses during the Ebola outbreak in 2015 in Sierra Leone, so when COVID-19 cases started rising in the UK I volunteered to help the Public Health England lab in Addenbrookes. From there I joined Professor Ian Goodfellow’s team working to sequence full genomes of the virus from patients across East Anglia. As case numbers are being brought under control I’ve been able to transition back to virus research, which aims to improve our understanding of coronavirus immunity.

My research usually focuses on the antibody response to viruses. This means it hasn’t been too large a leap to extend my research to include coronaviruses. We need to determine how coronavirus-specific antibodies are working, in order to find out what the ‘ideal’ antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 is. This will be valuable for development of effective vaccines and for identification of people that may be susceptible to repeat infections.

As a veterinarian, I have also been closely following the news about COVID-19 in animals. There are many myths and misconceptions in this area, so I‘ve been actively engaged in reassuring veterinary professionals and the public about risks to pets. I’ve written a number of articles for ̽��ֱ��Conversation and the Naked Scientists on this in recent weeks (there’s still zero evidence of pets transmitting the virus to humans). With support from colleagues in CITIID, I have also established a new project for COVID-19 testing in animals.

Development of safe, effective, and widely available vaccines is an incredible challenge facing scientists right now. Many different vaccine approaches are being studied, but we don’t yet know which is going to be successful. ̽��ֱ��number of trials currently underway for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is beyond anything the vaccine field has previously seen.

I have always been keen to seen molecular biology translated for use in medical settings. There is now cross-talk between research institutes and the hospitals like never before, and the scientists and clinicians are collaborating at an impressive rate!

Many lessons have been learnt about our ability and capacity to test for viruses in the UK. ̽��ֱ��number of scientists wanting to volunteer to help with testing has been immense, so in future I hope logistics and organisation will be able to match this enthusiasm much quicker.

When the pandemic is over, I’m looking forward to travelling anywhere outside of Cambridge! Much as I love this city, I really miss venturing further afield to see family, friends, and explore new places. I’d also really like to sit in a busy café with a good coffee!

Sarah Caddy is a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Fellow in Viral Immunology at the Cambridge Institute for Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease.

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Before the COVID-19 outbreak, Sarah Caddy was conducting research on a number of different viruses. “I was looking at how antibodies can neutralise rotavirus and influenza, to help develop better vaccine candidates,” she says, “so it wasn’t a huge leap to extend my research to include coronavirus.”

Sarah Caddy

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Opinion: Can cats really get or pass on COVID-19, as a report from Belgium suggests?

Anonymous — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 09:54:23 +0000

After reports of two dogs testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 in Hong Kong, the most recent news to cause alarm among animal owners is that of a cat in Belgium with apparent symptoms of the virus that causes COVID-19.

̽��ֱ��owner of the cat had recently tested positive for the virus. It is reported that the cat developed breathing difficulties and diarrhoea one week later. Vets at the ̽��ֱ�� of Liège, Belgium then tested the cat for SARS-CoV-2 and subsequently detected the viral genome in vomit and a stool sample.

Should we now be concerned about the virus spreading to cats? To be succinct – not yet. Several key questions need to be answered before any conclusions can be drawn from this case.

Many people are asking if the coronavirus detected in the cat really is SARS-CoV-2 or whether it could be the completely different cat-only coronavirus, which has been infecting cats worldwide for decades. ̽��ֱ��feline coronavirus exists in two forms: one causes mild gastrointestinal disease and the other causes a highly fatal disease known as feline infectious peritonitis (FIP).

Feline coronaviruses look very different to SARS-CoV-2 at the genetic level. This means that as long as the correct test was run for the cat in question, it should be easy to differentiate between the two viruses.

̽��ֱ��standard test for SARS-CoV-2 only detects the viral genome. It is very important to bear in mind that this test does not detect infectious or “live” virus particles, so it is impossible to tell whether the viral genome found in the cat was from a particle that could replicate. To demonstrate infectivity, many more tests are needed. It is possible that the cat ate contaminated food and the virus simply passed through its gut. This explanation is less likely if large quantities of genetic material were detected in the cat, but this data has not been released.

Whereas the two canine SARS-CoV-2 cases had no obvious clinical signs relating to COVID-9, the cat at the centre of the latest media attention did have respiratory symptoms. But as every vet knows, cats can have breathing difficulties for many reasons, from feline asthma to heart disease. Similarly, there is a long list of causes of diarrhoea in cats. Without knowing any clinical details of this case, we can’t tell whether COVID-19 was responsible for the disease or if this was just an upsetting coincidence.

Thankfully, there is still zero evidence of pets transmitting the virus to humans. It is also reassuring that a large veterinary diagnostic lab recently stated they have now tested thousands of cat and dog samples for SARS-CoV-2 with no positive cases. Also, given that as of March 30 there are over 720,000 human cases worldwide, it is safe to assume that if this virus readily caused disease in pets, we would know by now.

Sarah L Caddy, Clinical Research Fellow in Viral Immunology and Veterinary Surgeon, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

This article is republished from ̽��ֱ��Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Should we be concerned about the coronavirus spreading to cats? Not yet, says Dr Sarah Caddy in this article for ̽��ֱ��Conversation, even after a concerning report from Belgium.

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̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Sarah Caddy

Tackling COVID-19: Dr Sarah Caddy

This article is part of a series in which we speak to some of the many Cambridge researchers tackling COVID-19. For other articles about our latest COVID-19-related research, click here.

How you can support Cambridge’s COVID-19 research

Opinion: Can cats really get or pass on COVID-19, as a report from Belgium suggests?

How you can support Cambridge's COVID-19 research effort