There is no evidence that pets or other domesticated animals have been infected with COVID-19 or could spread it to humans, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday.
The council’s statement came after the Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department issued a notice that a dog living in the home of a person diagnosed with COVID-19 had tested positive a week earlier for the virus.
The World Organization for Animal Health and the WHO have said there is no evidence that pets such as cats and dogs could become infected or transmit the virus, the council said.
The dog, which was under quarantine along with its owner, had nasal and oral samples that were confirmed as “weak-positive” for the virus, although its anal samples tested negative for the virus and it has not shown any symptoms, the council said.
The test results could be the result of close contact between the owner and the dog or environmental contamination of its mouth and nose, the council said.
The Animal Health Research Institute has developed a real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay for detection of the virus and plans to employ positive control samples for the experiment, the council said.
The council would discuss with experts sample taking and testing methods so it can conduct tests on samples from animals.
It plans to test 10 animal samples daily initially and expand its testing capacity depending on the development of the COVID-19 outbreak
Pet owners should follow proper sanitation and hygiene habits, such as washing hands thoroughly after touching their pets, and to help their pets stay healthy, the council said.
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