Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has documented the first case of human to canine coronavirus disease after a dog in quarantine tested weakly positive for the virus in late February, using the canine’s nasal and oral cavity samples. At the time, however, scientists couldn’t determine whether the animal was truly infected or if it had only picked up traces of the virus from a contaminated surface.
The dog was taken under quarantine and inspected by experts from the University of Hong Kong, City University and the World Organisation for Animal Health, who “unanimously agreed that these results suggest that the dog has a low level of infection and it is likely to be a case of human-to-animal transmission,” according to the South China Morning Post.
The dog of a Covid-19 patient in Hong Kong has tested “weak-positive” for the #coronavirus, but officials say there is no evidence pets can spread the infection https://t.co/DK8ShrWbyR pic.twitter.com/WMQRkoMXdu
— SCMP News (@SCMPNews) March 5, 2020
A spokeswoman for Hong Kong’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation said in a press release that there is a possibility of transmission of coronavirus to domesticated animals but officials say there is no evidence pets can spread the infection.
“Apart from maintaining good hygiene practices, pet owners need not be overly concerned and under no circumstances should they abandon their pets,” the spokesperson said.
Hong Kong health officials have warned people against kissing their pets and advised them to regularly wash their hands before and after handling animals.
