Source: Thailand Medical News Feb 28, 2020 4 years, 9 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes ago
Health authorities in Hong Kong announced on Friday morning (28
th February) that a
pet dog of a
coronavirus patient had also tested positive for the presence of
coronavirus after nasal and oral samples taken from it was subjected to the standard nucleic acid testing protocol.
Pet Owners In UK getting mask for their dogs.
They however said that there is not ample evidence yet to verify that the
coronavirus can be transmitted to
pets.
The dog did not exhibit any symptoms, it was noted.
The Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said it will conduct further clinical tests to confirm if the
dog had been infected with the
coronavirus or if the samples were only the result of environmental contamination.
The AFCD issued a statement to the media, "At present, the AFCD does not have evidence that
pet animals can be infected ... or can be a source of infection to people."
The authorities will quarantine the
dog for a period of time ad also conduct further studies on it.
The WHO or World Health Organisation website says so far there has been no evidence that companion
pets can be infected with the
coronavirus.
If further tests confirm that the
dog was indeed infected or vice versa, it could have numerous implications including the fact that the new
coronavirus could be evolving at a faster rate than originally thought.
(To date Hong Kong has 93 confirmed
coronavirus cases and 2 deaths so far but hundreds of suspected cases that are being investigated or pending testing.)
For more articles on the latest
coronavirus developments, kindly keep checking at :
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/coronavirus
