AS CORONAVIRUS SPREADS, ONE DOG IS BEING QUARANTINED.
Two in three American households live with some sort of pet. It’s no surprise that, as the new coronavirus, Covid-19, spreads across the world and threatens an imminent outbreak in the U.S., many dog parents are beginning to worry. If you are anything like me, you have wondered, ‘can this highly infectious coronavirus infect our doggy children?
The short answer is, scientists are doubtful, but unsure. It may be worth taking precautionary measures.
Coronaviruses are a large family of pathogens commonly found in birds and mammals. Scientists have found evidence that suggests that Covid-19 was first developed in bats and found a way to migrate to humans through physical contact. There is no hard evidence proving that the virus can be transmitted from humans to dogs or vice versa, according to both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Last Friday, the dog of a coronavirus patient in Hong Kong tested “weak positive” for Coronavirus. However, the city’s agricultural and fisheries department is unsure whether the dog has contracted the disease or if it was just “a result of environmental contamination of it’s mouth and nose.” The dog is now being quarantined at an animal facility located in Hong Kong.
UPDATE: The dog was taken under quarantine and inspected by experts from the University of Hong Kong, City University and the World Organization for Animal Health, who “unanimously agreed that these results suggest that the dog has a low level of infection and it is likely to be a case of human-to-animal transmission,” according to the South China Morning Post.
The U.S. CDC suggests pet owners restrict contact, including petting, snuggling, being kissed or licked, and sharing food, with pets and other animals if the owner is infected with the coronavirus. And the WHO said “it is always a good idea to wash your hands with soap and water after contact with pets. This protects you against various common bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella that can pass between pets and humans.”
