No evidence livestock are susceptible to COVID-19, researcher says

The novel coronavirus doesn’t appear to cause noticeable infections in livestock and poultry, according to a veterinarian at Iowa State University.

That said, the virus could disrupt the food supply chain if it causes workforce shortages in the meatpacking industry, said the veterinarian, Jim Roth, director of Iowa State’s Center for Food Security and Public Health.

“If livestock were getting the virus and getting sick we’d most likely know that from what’s gone on in other countries,” Roth said. “It does seem to be pretty species-specific to people.” He said the virus most likely jumped from an animal species to humans and mutated into a virus that mostly affects people.

Researchers currently are looking at the possibility that livestock might experience minor infections or carry the new coronavirus, but Roth said this virus is still too new to draw a conclusion.

But if it affects the meatpacking industry by causing worker shortages, plant operations could still falter, he added.

While some companies have said they’re committed to worker safety, employees at others have said they don’t think officials there are taking the threat seriously enough. “We’re up here risking our life for chicken,” said one Perdue Farms employee.

In Canada, meanwhile, the government began requesting that meat inspectors who have recently retired come back to work.