A French medical body urged pet owners on Wednesday to take precautions like washing hands after stroking dogs or cats, saying the risk of catching COVID-19 from animals “cannot be ruled out”.
Even though there is no evidence yet that domestic animalscan transmit the virus to humans or get sick from it, there could be apotential risk, said the French Academy of Medicine, which advises thegovernment on epidemics and has set up a dedicated COVID-19 monitoring group.
The SARS outbreak of 2002-2003, caused by a coronavirusgenetically close to COVID-19, was able to infect several animal speciesincluding racoons, cats and hamsters, the academy said.
And two dogs whose Hong Kong owner was infected withCOVID-19 have also tested positive, it said.
One of the dogs had a very low virus count, the academysaid, and later tested negative, while the second is still being monitored.
Neither have displayed any signs of illness, but “thesescientific observations suggest that COVID-19 can be transmitted to dogs by acontaminated owner,” it said.
But it noted that there is nothing to suggest so far thatdogs can infect humans or other animals.
While reiterating that France’s Anses health agency and theWorld Organisation for Animal Health consider animal-to-human transmissionunlikely, the academy nevertheless advised pet owners to “reinforce”their hygiene measures, including regular hand-washing after touching their petand “not allowing them to lick your face”.
It also recommended separating an infected owner from theiranimal companion “during the period that the sick person may excrete thevirus”, for example when coughing.
But the academy emphasised that “in a home where a sickperson has COVID-19, the risk for people living under the same roof is muchbigger from contact with the sick person than with the pet”.
“Particularly in periods of confinement, the pet ismore a friend than a danger,” it added.
The World Health Organization recently stated there was”no evidence that a dog, cat or any pet can transmit COVID-19.”