“Based on everything we know so far, it seems that coronavirus infections of pets are very uncommon, even though they can occur,” says Jane Sykes, PhD, a professor at the University of California in Davis, who specializes in infectious diseases of dogs and cats. The OIE considers these to be isolated cases. RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About Coronavirus Should I Be Worried That My Pet Could Get the Coronavirus? Would It Have Symptoms?Īccording to the World Organisation of Animal Health (OIE), the pets who tested positive for the coronavirus became infected through close contact with caregivers who had COVID-19. Read on to find out what precautions experts recommend to keep you and your pets healthy. The pug experienced mild symptoms like coughing and sneezing and didn’t want to eat his breakfast but seemed to recover after a few days, according to the family.Īll of this may have you wondering about the risks of human-to-animal and animal-to-human transmission. One daughter, another dog, and a cat also live in the household and didn’t test positive for COVID-19. The pug belongs to a family that was taking part in a Duke University study in which the parents (both doctors) and son all tested positive for the coronavirus. Most recently, a pug in North Carolina made headlines when it tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to an article published April 29 by.
Most of us have heard the experts’ advice on how to minimize the human-to-human spread of COVID-19, starting with: Wash your hands, wash your hands some more, don’t touch your face, stay home as much as you can, wear a cloth face covering when you go out, and limit your exposure to anyone who is sick or who may have been exposed.īut what should we do about our cats and dogs? Since the pandemic began, a handful of pets in Hong Kong, Belgium, and New York State - as well as eight lions and tigers at the Bronx Zoo in New York City - have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.