No evidence dogs can get coronavirus, World Health Organisation says

Coronavirus: the symptoms
A man wearing a face mask walks his dog on Piazza San Carlo in Turin, a coronavirus hotspot
AFP via Getty Images
Ewan Somerville13 March 2020

The World Health Organisation has moved to bust myths over coronavirus and pet dogs.

Rumours and panic have been swirling around social media in recent days, asking one key question: can my pet give me Covid-19?

Many of the fears stem from the pre-existing belief that the coronavirus pandemic began in a wild animal market in Wuhan, where alive and dead fish, birds and other species are traded with humans.

The worries have grown greater because many of those living with the disease do not know they have it; it can be asymptomatic.

Coronavirus - In pictures

1/80

But WHO experts today said that there is no scientific base to the claim that animals or pets can become infected with the latest strand.

"At present, there is no evidence that companion animals/pets such as dogs or cats can be infected with the new coronavirus," the organisation wrote in a graphic.

However, it is always a good idea to was your hands with soap and water after contact with pets.

"This protects you against various common bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella that can pass between pets and humans."

It comes after the Hong Kong government confirmed last month that a dog had tested "weak positive" for coronavirus and been placed in quarantine. Cases in the UK soared by their highest daily amount yet, 202, to hit a total of 798 on Friday, and the eleventh Brit patient died tonight in Scotland. This comes from nearly 30,000 tests.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson switched the UK from a "contain" to "delay" phase following an emergency Cobra meeting with top government health advisers earlier this week.

However, he dismissed calls for schools, universities and public spaces to go into lockdown, as he warned the virus could take another 10-14 weeks to peak.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in