A lot of people have worried about whether or not their pets can get the dreaded coronavirus.
We’ve known for a little while that cats can be susceptible to the coronavirus but it has been debated about whether or not dogs can get the virus.
Well, the first report just came out in the US of a dog testing positive for coronavirus.
Dr. Chris Woods, the lead investigator of the Molecular and Epidemiological Study of Suspected Infection (MESSI), confirmed in a statement to CBS News that, “To our knowledge, this is the first instance in which the virus has been detected in a dog. Little additional information is known at this time as we work to learn more about the exposure.”
There had also been reports of a dog testing positive for coronavirus in Hong Kong but this is still very much a developing thing.
You might be wondering why the dog was even tested in the first place?
Well, the dog which is a pug named Winston, is part of a family in Chapel Hill, North Carolina undergoing a COVID-19 study. The mother, father, and son in that same household were all enrolled along with the dog in the coronavirus study. They all tested positive.
Interestingly, another family dog and cat didn’t test positive. The family also has a pet lizard but it was not tested.
Reportedly, the dog only had mild symptoms and coronavirus does not pose a major threat to dogs and people should not worry about their pets dying from the disease.
However, I would like to see more studies done on the effects the virus has on dogs and potentially humans.
It seems to me that we don’t really know everything at this point (if this is truly the first detected case) and understandably the focus is on testing and treating humans with the virus.
It makes you wonder if transmission can come from dogs to humans which I believe is something that has not been 100% conclusively determined though some state it won’t or it’s at least a low risk.
The CDC states:
“Some coronaviruses that infect animals can sometimes be spread to people, but this is rare…. At this time, there is no evidence that animals play a significant role in spreading the virus that causes COVID-19….Based on the limited information available to date, the risk of animals spreading COVID-19 to people is considered to be low….We are still learning about this virus, but it appears that it can spread from people to animals in some situations.”
So like I said it’s a bit inconclusive as far as ruling it out 100%.
The risk definitely seems low but if this is the first detected case in a dog how much can we really know at this point?
It will be interesting to see how these facts develop.
Article updated to reflect more facts.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.