Can pets get coronavirus

Coronavirus is an infection that is most often transmitted by airborne droplets by analogy with the SARS and influenza viruses. Affecting the lower respiratory tract, the virus leads to severe pneumonia, a vaccine against which does not yet exist. It is known that elderly people and adults with weakened immunity are most often the victims of the disease, however, the precedent described in the online journal livescience.com demonstrates that coronavirus can also affect animals. A case with a dog whose hostess was diagnosed with the presence of the COVID-19 virus in the body shows that pets can also become carriers of an unpleasant disease.

Can pets get coronavirus?

Coronavirus and animals

The first reports that an animal became a victim of a coronavirus infection appeared in Hong Kong, where a Pomeranian Spitz living in the same room as his mistress showed that he had a “weakly positive” result on coronavirus. The test results were published by the Hong Kong Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Nature Conservation on February 28, but then scientists still could not determine whether the animal was really infected or if it simply picked up traces of the virus from a contaminated surface.

The dog was quarantined and examined by experts from the University of Hong Kong and the World Animal Health Organization, who unanimously agreed that the animal really had a low infection rate. However, can this result suggest that pet owners should limit their pet's walks? Fortunately for all pet lovers, experts argue that concerns in this case are completely in vain.

Fears that we may become infected with coronavirus from domestic animals are unfounded

Although Pomeranian Spitz from Hong Kong showed a positive result for coronavirus , there is no evidence that pets can spread the infection. The kinship of coronavirus infection with acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which hit almost half of the planet in 2003, demonstrates that animals, compared to humans, are not able to transmit the virus by airborne droplets. Although several domestic animals were detected during the SARS epidemic with a positive result for the presence of a viral infection, not a single pet became ill and did not show any symptoms of the disease.

Thus, a person’s chances of contracting a coronavirus from his walk-loving pet tend to zero even if the animal is already a carrier of infection. Be that as it may, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people with COVID-19 have someone else who can visit and care for their companion animals while they are sick and are being treated at a medical facility. In addition, it is recommended to observe the rules of basic hygiene, washing your hands after each interaction with a pet or a street animal. Just in case