COVID: Not Even Your Pets Are Safe

An Arizona man who contracted COVID-19 earlier this year is believed to have spread the virus to his two pets in the first-ever documented case of human-to-pet transmission in the U.S.

The unnamed man, who is 28 years old and unvaccinated, developed symptoms of Covid on March 6, and tested positive for the virus. 

Ten days later, his dog and cat also tested positive for Covid.

 It is the first case of pets catching COVID-19 from humans, and gives experts another look at how the virus that has taken over the world may be spreading.

Animals can contract Covid, but are very likely to have an asymptomatic case. Cats to suffer a slight increased risk from the virus when compared to dogs, though.

 'There's been a lot of evidence over the past 18-plus months that animals are susceptible to getting the virus,' Dr Hayley Yaglom, an epidemiologist at the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Flagstaff, Arizona, and lead researcher of the study, told DailyMail.com.

Because the man showed symptoms first - and the limited interactions the pets have with others outside of the household - the team determined he transmitted the virus to the pets, and not the other way around.

While this is the first case researchers can confirm in the U.S., they have believed for some time that transmission of the virus from humans to pets is possible.

'It was definitely something that we hypothesized based on the growing amount of evidence,' Yaglom said.

 While Covid can pose a grave threat to humans, killing more than five million people worldwide, animals do not face the same level of risk. 

'Overall, it does not seem like dogs and cats, at least domestic dogs and cats living at home are as great of a risk of developing severe illnesses... or  death as compared to people,' Yaglom said.

A person with the virus should avoid snuggling or sleeping with their animal while they are infected, especially if they are symptomatic.

They should also frequently wash their hands and make sure to wear a mask around their pet.

Time to get goldfish, I guess....

 


 

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