The recent news that there was a dog in Hong Kong that got infected by COVID-19 has made many people jittery. As a pet parent, it is understandable that you’d get bothered by this news. But before you do something, here’s what you need to know.
Pet patient zero?
When a Hong Kong dog owner was found positive for COVID-19, her pet Pomeranian was also taken by health authorities for testing. It was found out that her dog tested weak positive to COVID-19 virus. But this only means that the dog has a small piece of viral genome detected in a sample. So the question now is, is the cute Pomeranian a carrier of the disease?
The low levels of COVID-19 virus found in the dog are not replicating fast or high enough to be released from its body. This means the virus cannot be passed on from the dog to its pet owner. One thing is certain though: the dog was exposed to someone with the virus. As of this writing, the dog is still under quarantine and is showing no relevant clinical signs of the disease.
No human-to-pets infection and/or vice versa
Is this the first case of human-to-pets infection? Or just a case of a pet getting infected by picking up traces of the virus from contaminated surfaces? While scientists try to determine the cause for the dog’s COVID-19 infection, the World Health Organization (WHO) website says that “there is no evidence that companion animals/pets such as dogs or cats can be infected with the new coronavirus.”
Even during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak during 2003, “pets have tested positive but none became sick.”* Further to that, there’s also no evidence that viral transmission from pets to humans happened.**
Pets may be infected
If you suspect that you have COVID-19, please quarantine yourself for 14 days and make the necessary arrangements for your pets. Have someone else take care of them while you are sick. Do ensure that they have enough food supply while you recuperate. Don’t forget to feed them with the best possible pet food to build their immunity. Addiction’s range of premium dog and cat food has been formulated to give your pets the complete nutrition they need for optimum health and vitality. Plus all our dog food are enriched with added vitamins and minerals as well as taurine for your dog’s overall well-being. We even have vegetarian dog food for hypersensitive dogs, Zen Vegetarian. All these are available from your local store.
While the Hong Kong human-to-pet incident may be an isolated case and is yet to be determined as such, it’s always better to be safe than having your pets be infected by you.
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram for more pet health and nutrition updates.
References:
* https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3065016/coronavirus-pet-dog-belonging-covid-19-patient
** ibid.
For further reading:
1. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/05/hong-kong-warns-residents-not-to-kiss-pets-after-dog-contracts-coronavirus
2. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3065016/coronavirus-pet-dog-belonging-covid-19-patient
3. http://theconversation.com/hong-kong-dog-causes-panic-but-heres-why-you-neednt-worry-about-pets-spreading-covid-19-133304
4. https://www.kolotv.com/content/news/What-you-need-to-know-about-pets-and-COVID-19-568692351.html
5. https://www.kolotv.com/content/news/What-you-need-to-know-about-pets-and-COVID-19-568692351.html
6. https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/can-your-pet-get-coronavirus-can-you-get-coronavirus-from-your-pet/509-67bf7841-931a-41ed-82f5-beb046c0af9c
7. https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-first-case-human-to-dog-transmission.html
