Expert: In the United States, there is no evidence that COVID-19 has moved between humans and pets. Local news

Yes, family pets are unlikely to infect humans with the new coronavirus. No, humans cannot pass COVID-19 to dogs and cats. Still, the concept persists.

This is mainly due to respiratory illness in only two dogs (Pomeranian and German Shepherd) and Hong Cat by 19 April, despite the fact that 2.5 million people worldwide have the virus. Is related to the fact that the test was positive. The second cat in Kong, Belgium.

In the United States alone, this is a small percentage, given that 85 million households have pets. Most of them are either dogs or cats.

According to the American Academy of Veterinary Medicine, “There are no confirmed reports that pets become ill with COVID-19 in the United States, and no information suggests that pets may be the source of infection for people who cause coronaviruses.”

“We’re still learning a lot about this virus,” said Lear Korn, a professor of small animal studies at the University of Missouri, School of Veterinary Medicine. “Evidence that you can give your pet the (virus) No humans. No increase in respiratory illness or infection in dogs and cats, which is a promising sign that the virus is not causing disease in pets. ”

This is very good news for pet owners in the four states. Animal shelters in two areas, Joplin’s Golden Poppet Rescue and Cartago Humania Society, are still open to the public. More encouraging is that quarantine families and individuals raise record numbers of dogs and cats from shelters in these and other areas.

Connie Andrews, director of the Joplin Human Society, said: “We currently have 189 dogs and cats in foster parents. None of the foster parents worry that they will get sick with COVID-19.”

Like the majority of shelters across the country, JHS takes special precautions to ensure the health and safety of both its staff and the pets they care for on a daily basis.

“ We don’t have that many staff members every day in the building and all the usual cleaning procedures are in place, changing gloves between cleaning each kennel, bleach and a suitable disinfectant. The use of the, and the temporary maintenance of social distances between staff, etc. Andrews only offers appointment-only remote foster parent pick-ups and offers public contraception / contraception clinics and adoptions. Closed.

There was an initial fear that false statements could surprise the pet owner or abandon the pet. That’s not happening in the area, Andrews said.

“We didn’t see more animals surrendering nor more strays to shelters,” she said, echoing sentiment from animal shelters and authorities in other areas.

With extreme caution, corn recommends that pet owners with a COVID-19 diagnosed avoid close cuddling with the pet and call the vet if the pet experiences severe coughing, lethargy or diarrhea. . In other words, treat your pet like a fellow human.

But “if you’re healthy, your pet doesn’t need any special handling precautions,” Corn said.

why? This is because research shows overwhelming evidence of the mental and physical benefits that pets can provide to their owners, especially during times of stress.

“Pets provide a great company for many and can be a great source of humor, connection, and contact with nature,” Korn said. “The dogs cheer us up, take them out and infuse them with fresh air. They probably enjoy quarantine, especially because they have more time with their best friends.”

Connection

COVID-19 has proven to be an exception, according to Learcorn, a professor of small animal medicine at the University of Missouri, School of Veterinary Medicine, but the disease transmitted from animals to humans has a long history.

“The most recent serious illness I could think of was the outbreak of a bird flu outbreak in Asia around 2009. Fortunately for all of us, it’s easy to pass from person to person. Was not adapted and instead transmitted from poultry to humans, a very deadly disease for humans, and if it became contagious among people, it would be an even greater tragedy. It would have been. “

A typical example of an animal-to-human illness is the rabies virus, she said.

“In the United States, vaccination of pets against rabies is very successful. As a result, people here are very rarely infected. But in other parts of the world, this is not true. Every year in the world. , 60,000 to 100,000 die of rabies, more than half of whom die of children, which is incredibly good that can result from vaccination to protect both humans and animals. Here is an example. “

MERS is a disease transmitted from camels to people in the Middle East and caused by a closely related coronavirus, she said.