RECENT REPORTS OF animals testing positive for Covid-19 should be taken seriously, but there is still no indication pets are transmitting the disease to humans, the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) has said. 

The VCI, the statutory body which regulates and manages the practice of veterinary medicine and nursing in Ireland, has issued guidance to vets about Covid-19 and animals.  

The council said it acknowledges that recent reports of dogs, cats and tigers testing positive for Covid-19 should be taken seriously, but advises that there is no indication at the moment that pets such as cats or dogs are active transmitters of the disease to humans. 

This is also the opinion of the World Organisation of Animal Health.

The World Health Organization recently said there is a possibility that some animals could become infected with Covid-19 through close contact with infected humans, but further evidence is needed to understand if animals and pets can spread the disease. 

A tiger at New York’s Bronx Zoo tested positive for Covid-19, the zoo said last week. 

The VCI said vets should be aware that most people worried about these reports equate a diagnosis of Covid-19 in an animal with an active and contagious infection of the disease. 

Vets are told to advise people that the situation may change in the future, but at the moment pets are not considered to be active transmitters of infections for humans.  

However, in spite of this, animals that have had contact with confirmed or suspected human cases of Covid-19 should be treated as high risk of having the virus on their coats, in their faeces and in nasal/oral secretions.  

It is advisable that these animals be kept in isolation for 14 days as a precaution.  

If these animals need to be examined in a vet’s office, precautions should be put in place. Barrier nursing protocols should be implemented and a minimum number of staff should be exposed to the risk.  

In this instance, these practices should be explained to the animal’s owner beforehand to alleviate their fears and avoid any embarrassment, the veterinary council said.  

Everyone should wash their hands after playing with and handling their pets.   

Those considered high-risk such as elderly people and the immuno-suppressed, should limit their contacts with other animals.