Dog Infected, First Case of Human to Animal Coronavirus Transmission

For the first time since the outbreak of Coronavirus, a pet dog of a coronavirus patient in Hong Kong has been infected with the coronavirus and therefore it is officially the first case of human-to-animal transmission. 

The canine breed dog belongs to a 60-year-old coronavirus patient, who has been repeatedly tested ‘weak positive’ for the coronavirus and is sent to an animal center for quarantine. 

The department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has also said that the Pomeranian has “a low-level of infection”. The AFCD also said that the experts from other universities and the World Organisation for Animal Health have unanimously confirmed that, “It is likely to be a case of human-to-animal transmission”.

Meanwhile, the government of Hong Kong has said it has introduced new measures keeping in mind infected pets, who once detected with the coronavirus must be quarantined for 14 days. Two dogs are already been kept in isolation. The second dog also belongs to a coronavirus patient, though he has been tested negative for the virus once and will be tested again before its release.

Authorities in Hong Kong have assured that it will continue to monitor the Pomeranian and return it to its owner when it will test negative for the disease. A spokesperson for AFCD said, “Apart from maintaining good hygiene practices, pet owners need not be overly concerned and under no circumstances should they abandon their pets”.

So far the financial hub has confirmed 104 coronavirus cases in humans and two deaths with the infection earlier this month.

Authorities across the world are taking serious steps as the virus is spreading like an epidemic with more than 80 new countries and territories across every continent except Antarctica have been infected. 

Since the virus was first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year, the virus has formed major self-sustaining clusters in South Korea, with new patients are identified in parts of Europe, Iran, and the United States. The virus so far has infected more than 95,000 people and killed at least 3,300 worldwide. 

The majority of cases are still in mainland China. The country’s National Health Commission (NHC) reported till Wednesday, 3,012 people had died and 80,409 cases had been detected so far. More than 52,000 patients have recovered from the virus and been discharged from the hospital.

The deadly novel coronavirus has also prompted concerns in India, the second-most populous country in the world. 29 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed inside the country, including three, who have been recovered. Many of the cases are linked to a group of travelers from Italy, which is the hardest-hit country in entire Europe.