February 29, 2020 By Editorial Staff
A coronavirus patient’s pet dog
was placed in quarantine after testing “weak positive” for the virus in Hong
Kong. Fox News reported that it would mark the
first case of the virus in a pet animal if confirmed.
“At present, the AFCD
[Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department] does not have evidence
that pet animals can be infected with COVID-19 virus or can be a source of
infection to people,” a department spokesman said.
The department picked up the
dog from an apartment and sent it to an animal keeping facility. Oral, nasal,
and rectal samples were collected and tested positive for low levels of
COVID-19. While the dog does not have any COVID-19 symptoms, the virus can
reportedly spread without any symptoms showing up.
The AFCD will collect further
samples to confirm if the dog really was infected or if the positive test was a
result of “environmental contamination” of the animal’s mouth and nose, the
spokesman said. The department advises that pets of patients infected with the
virus should be placed in quarantine for 14 days. Pet owners should maintain a
healthy habit of hygiene and wash their hands thoroughly after touching their
pets.
“If there are any changes in
the health condition of the pets, advice from veterinarians should be sought as
soon as possible,” the spokesman said.
The technical lead of WHO’s
emergencies program, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, said they are working with Hong
Kong scientists to understand the results, “to understand what further testing
they are doing and to understand how they are going to care for these animals.”
The dog reportedly belongs to a
60-year-old woman who developed symptoms on February 12th and later tested
positive, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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