Hello clients and friends of Glove Cities Veterinary Hospital!
Dr. Lavin here with a very important and frequently asked about topic. Today we are talking about Coronavirus (COVID-19) with respect to our pets. ??
In a time like this, there of course are tons of questions and doubts, especially where the health of our pets (and patients!) is concerned. This is a new and evolving topic and we are learning more every day. So far, this is what we know…
There have been a few (about 4) cases reported worldwide of domestic dogs or cats testing positive for COVID-19. All but one of these pets had NO CLINICAL SIGNS – meaning they were never sick. For the one pet (a cat in Belgium) who did have some respiratory signs, it was never confirmed that his signs (coughing, etc.) were due to Coronavirus, versus one of the many other causes of respiratory signs in cats. This cat has recovered completely from his illness.
Meanwhile, there are hundreds of thousands of humans worldwide who are or have been infected with COVID-19.
This is not meant to trigger panic – there is still not much known but the much more concerning thing here is person to person transfer of this virus, and human to pet transmission (or vice versa) is not a major concern at this time.
That being said, the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) has made a statement advising that anyone who is positive for COVID-19 practice social distancing and quarantine from their human counterparts AS WELL AS THEIR PETS. This is a recommendation made from a position of caution, as we still do not know everything about this virus and how it spreads. This means, if YOU OR SOMEONE IN YOUR HOME IS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, that person should NOT be the caretaker of that pet until they have recovered from their illness. Another family member (ideally within the same household) should take over as caretaker in the meantime.
I hope that helps answer some of the questions out there. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us here at Glove Cities Veterinary Hospital if there are additional questions – myself or any of the other doctors are happy to get back to you.
Stay safe everyone and best wishes,
Dr. Lavin
In this ?: Dr. Lavin and Krystin ?
