The pet dog of a Coronavirus patient has now been placed under quarantine after testing “weak positive” for the virus in Hong Kong, TIME reported.
Officials will conduct further tests, but if confirmed, this will mark the first case of the coronavirus in an animal.
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There is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus that is quickly spreading around the world.
The pnuemonia-like disease, which first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, is believed to have been transferred to humans from bats.
As of writing, the death toll of the coronavirus outbreak is now reportedly 2,867 , with more than 83,000 people infected around the world.
On February 28, the Hong Kong government released a statement about the recent discovery.
As per the statement , the city’s AFCD (Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department) said the dog tested “weak positive” for the COVID-19 virus, and added the animal has now been quarantined.
AFCD staff picked up the dog from a local residence, who was then sent to the animal keeping facility at the Hong Kong Port of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. There, oral, nasal, and rectal samples were taken and tested weak positive.
At present, the dog is not showing any physical signs of the virus but it can reportedly spread without showing symptoms.
The AFCD has also confirmed the dog’s owner is infected with the coronavirus.
Officials will now carry out further tests to confirm whether the dog is actually infected with the disease, or if its weak positive was the result of environmental contamination of its mouth and nose.
This pet is currently the only animal under quarantine at the facility.
Although the AFCD has no evidence to suggest that pet animals can be infected, or be a source of infection to people, the department is still advising that pets of confirmed virus patients be put under quarantine as well.
Pet owners are encouraged to maintain good hygiene and thoroughly wash their hands with soap or alcohol sanitizer after interacting with their animals.
h/t: TIME , Business Insider , Government of Hong Kong
