A pet dog in Hong Kong has a “low-level” OF COVID-19, in what may be the first known human-to-animal transmission of the virus that has sickened more than 100,000 people worldwide.
The case has raised the specter that dogs might be swept into the epidemic, which, even now, public health officials say does not appear to infect or be spread by pets.
Washington Post reports that experts say much remains unknown about the dog’s infection, and they emphasized the lone case does not yet cause for alarm or reassessments about interactions with pets.
According to Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, the dog is owned by a person who was hospitalized with COVID-19, and has been in quarantine since 26th February.
The department says the dog’s “weak positive” test results, from nasal and oral swabs, might have been the result of “environmental contamination,” and not infection. However, positive tests since then suggest the dog does have a low-level of infection.
[Source: Washington Post]
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