Coronavirus and Pets

Pets and Coronavirus

The new form of coronavirus, labelled Covid-19, began to spread in the seafood markets in the city of Wuhan in China. Although it spread from those dealing with and eating animals, it is in its current stage only affecting humans. A viral condition, it causes coughing, general breathing difficulty, and high temperatures. Those who have died from contracting the virus have often suffered from pneumonia, and in rare cases the virus has led to complications concluding in organ failure.
This is clearly a very serious state of affairs, but, as with anything that becomes of such critical stakes, one of the most important thing is to seek out all the official information possible, and to be open at all times to receive official communication on the events as they develop. As a pet owner, you may well be wondering if animals are at risk from Covid-19, and the good news is that there is currently no evidence that animals can suffer from the virus.

No cases currently of animal suffering from Covid-19

With that said, the World Health Organisation have made clear that you should nevertheless wash your hands thoroughly after stroking your (or anyone else’s!) pet. This is good practice anyway, as it will prevent the potential risk of E.coli or Salmonella, but it also will be important to do just as it will be important to wash your hands after contact with other humans. The main message for pet owners, then, is the same to anyone else: keep washing your hands. But no, there is no extra risk in having a pet.

Wash your hands regularly

Dogs or cats, evidence has shown, are just as dangerous/safe in all this as are door handles or any inanimate object you may come into contact with. In fact, it is this reason which has led to a misreading in Japan of coronavirus in a dog. Where the dog simply had coronavirus present on its surface, those testing the dog misunderstood this as the dog having contracted the virus. Again, the simple message to take home is that, irrespective of whether you have a pet or not, coronavirus can be caught from surfaces, so it is all important to keep those hands clean.

Wash your dog, but don’t go over the top

Similarly, after you take your dog for a walk, it may be a good idea if you are in a high risk area to clean their paws, whilst not going overboard and drying out their paws by wiping them too much. You may also want to think about washing your dog’s coat more often than usual. There can be too much panic at times such as this, and this might lead to people thinking for example they should put masks on their dogs. No matter how cute this may look, it is not recommended. As no pets have currently contracted the illness, it seems likely that the masks will be there for no reason, and may even be distressing to your pet.

Tips for your health

Coronaviruses which have come and gone, such as SARS and the less widespread MERS virus, typically originate by spreading from animals to humans, at which point they then are passed on from human to human. There are now some areas in the the world which you cannot travel to and from, whilst the Covid-19 virus still remains a threat. If you are concerned about the growing danger of this coronavirus where you are, then it is best to follow some simple steps.
One of the most simple and effective things you can do to stay safe is to frequently wash and dry your hands if you have been outside, and certainly always before you eat. This should of course not be an alien concept to us anyway! But now it is more important than ever, so either a wash with warm water and soap or with an alcohol based hand gel is going to be crucial to stop the spread. Keeping generally healthy is now important, too, as a strong immune system boosted by a well-rounded diet of vitamins, minerals and nutrients will be useful, as it always is!

The perfect time for the love of a pet

And if you do find that you have to self-quarantine, see this as a time when your pet will be an even more joyful presence than ever. They will be happy that they are getting to spend more time with their human friend than usual, and you can be happy that there is a calming and uplifting sidekick with you to raise a bit of cheer.
Scientific experts in the meantime are working nonstop to develop a vaccine, as one of the more problematic elements of viruses is indeed their viral nature, meaning that antibiotics have no effect. This will be a difficult process, however, and it is likely that a vaccine would not be available for mass distribution before 2021.

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