YOU, YOUR PETS, AND CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19)
General Background Information: In December of 2019, China announced an outbreak of pneumonia in people of the Chinese city of Wuhan, capital of Hubei province. The infectious agent was identified as a new coronavirus, then termed SARS-Cov-2. In January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) named the new virus as 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). By February 11, this new novel coronavirus was definitively named SARS-Cov-2 (Coronavirus Disease 2019 or COVID-19).
Coronaviruses belong to a large virus family which can infect a number of species, including mammals, birds, and fish. Canine coronavirus may cause mild diarrhea in dogs and feline coronavirus may cause a condition known as feline infectious peritonitis in cats. These coronaviruses ARE NOT associated with the current coronavirus outbreak known as COVID-19.
Some Key Points and Current Update as of March 27, 2020:
• Coronaviruses that infect animals can become able to infect people, but this is rare. At the moment there is no research to support human to animal spread of COVID-19.
• We do not know with certainty the exact source of the current outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, there is some suggestion that bats may have been the original source. This remains to be confirmed.
• We DO NOT have evidence that companion animals, including pets, can spread COVID-19. That said, on February 26, Hong Kong health officials placed a dog under quarantine after hospitalizing its owner for COVID-19 infection. Veterinarians confirmed the coronavirus infection after taking nasal and oral swabs. The WHO published a report of the emerging disease, listing this case as the first known COVID-19 infection in dogs. This dog, a 17 year old Pomeranian who was exhibiting signs of underlying chronic illnesses prior to testing positive for COVID-19, died in mid-March without showing any signs of disease related to COVID-19.
As of March 16, no other dogs and no cats have been diagnosed with COVID-19 with the WHO.
• People infected with COVID-19 should limit contact with their pets. Do not let them lick you. Make sure your wash your hands after your touch, feed or clean up after your pet.
• It is important to include your pet in your family’s preparedness planning – have enough pet food, cat litter, any your pets medications to last at least two weeks. Make sure that your pet’s medical records and vaccinations are up to date in the event you can’t care for them or need to board your pet.
• IF you think your pet may have an infectious disease, you should contact your veterinarian.
Current Update (April 2, 2020):
This is a quick update on more recent information regarding pets and COVID-19:
1. Hong Kong has tested 17 dogs and 8 cats from households with confirmed COVID-19 cases or persons in close contact with confirmed patients. Only two dogs have tested positive using a PCR test for the COVID-19 virus.
2. These findings indicate that dogs and cats are not infected easily with this virus, and there is no evidence that [pets] play a role in the spread of the virus. However, taking a precautionary approach, it is recommended quarantining animals from households with confirmed COVID-19 human cases.
3. The first cat to test positive to COVID-19 has been reported by the Public Health Service in Liege, Belgium. The cat lived in close contact with its owner and started showing symptoms a week after the owner died.
4. Idexx Laboratories started testing samples from dogs, cats, and horses for the coronavirus strain responsible for COVID-19. More than 3500 samples were submitted from South Korea and all 50 U.S. States including from areas (but not necessarily from animals in direct contact with a human case) experiencing human COVID-19 cases. To date, zero have tested positive.
5. To date, the American Veterinary Medical Association is unaware of any animal testing in the US of animals known to have been in contact with COVID-19 humans, although we understand that plans are under consideration to do some limited testing of dogs and cats that have been exposed to positive humans.
IMPORTANT NOTE from Dr. Amand:
“Even though there currently is no evidence that COVID-19 can infect dogs/cats and no evidence that dogs can then transmit the virus back to humans, THERE IS some concern that dogs/cats that are in households where a human is infected with COVID-19 and coughing/sneezing, the fur coat of the dog/cat may become contaminated and could be a source of infection should a human pet that contaminated animal. So the directive is to wash your hands when handling pets, pet food, or pet waste.” To date, we confirm that there is still no information proving that SARS-CoV-2 infection in a dog or cat can be passed on to other animals or to humans.
The above information is condensed from information provided by the WHO, CDC, AVMA and the School of Veterinary Medicine, Univ. of Pennsylvania.
Wilbur B. Amand, VMD
Inverness Village