Your Pets Are Not Likely to Get or Transmit Coronavirus. Here ’s What the Experts Say

This weekend a tiger at the Bronx Zoo tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans. But it’s a leap to worry if your household feline can get or transmit the coronavirus, says Karen Terio, chief of the Zoological Pathology Program at the University of Illinois’ College of Veterinary Medicine, which assisted in diagnosing the tiger. “A tiger is not a domestic cat, they are a completely different species of cats,” she says. “To date we have no evidence of the virus being transmitted from a pet to their owners. It’s much, much more likely that an owner could potentially transmit it to their pet.” Even then, the risk of a pet contracting the virus is low. Globally, only two dogs and two cats have tested positive for the virus, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). The first publicly recorded instance of a pet diagnosed with COVID-19 happened in Hong Kong in late February, and Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department along with veterinary experts at the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) concluded it to be a case of human-to-animal transmission. The pet dog belonged to someone who had the virus, and authorities at the Hong Kong Agriculture Department and OIE believe the dog contracted the virus from its owner. “Over 1 million human cases at this point worldwide and we’ve only seen four domestic animals test positive so far worldwide, so...
Source: TIME: Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Explainer News Desk Source Type: news