16.10.2026 14:20
After thousands of people in Tokat applied to hospitals with complaints of nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, it was reported that similar symptoms were also seen in cats and dogs. While veterinarians warned animal owners, experts drew attention to the fact that similar symptoms alone do not mean a norovirus diagnosis.
After nearly 5,000 people in Tokat applied to health institutions with complaints of nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, similar complaints also emerged in pets. Tokat Mayor Mehmet Kemal Yazıcıoğlu said in a statement in recent days that, as a result of investigations by public health teams from the Ministry of Health who came from Ankara, it was determined that norovirus caused the citizens' illness.
Seyit Sami Karyağdı, President of the Tokat Chamber of Veterinary Surgeons, stated that during the period when human cases were seen, there were also applications to veterinary clinics for cats and dogs with diarrhea and vomiting complaints. Stating that they contacted veterinary clinics in the city and evaluated the situation, Karyağdı said, "In more than 15 of our veterinary clinics, cases progressing with diarrhea and vomiting resembling the symptoms in humans began to be seen. We warned our clinics about this issue. We want our citizens to definitely consult a veterinarian when they see such symptoms in their cats and dogs."
Touching on the importance of addressing human and animal health together, Karyağdı mentioned that caution should be exercised against the possibility of transmission from humans to animals. Karyağdı said, "We encountered similar symptoms in cats and dogs during the same period when human cases began. This situation once again demonstrated the importance of the One Health approach."
"THE MAIN TRANSMISSION OCCURS BETWEEN HUMANS" Prof. Dr. Ercan Çaçan, Head of the Department of Genetics, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science and Letters, Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University, said that there are genetic differences between noroviruses identified in animals and noroviruses that cause disease in humans. Stating that noroviruses are not found only in humans, Çaçan said, "Noroviruses have been identified in some animal species, especially cattle, pigs and dogs. However, there are genetic differences between noroviruses found in animals and noroviruses that cause disease in humans. Today, the main transmission cycle of norovirus outbreaks seen in humans occurs between humans."
Emphasizing that norovirus transmission from animals to humans cannot be considered a common and definitively established route of transmission, Çaçan said, "It is not correct to think that every norovirus infection is related to animals. The transmission potential of some viruses found in animals is one of the topics on which scientific research continues."