Infected with COVID-19? Cuddling your pet cat or dog can make them sick, says study
Global News
The research, published this month in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, involved 69 cats and 49 dogs, including pets and animals from shelters and neuter clinics.
Cat and dog owners who cuddle their pets when infected with COVID-19 could end up making the animals sick with the virus, according to a Canadian study.
The study said that while it was already known that animals including cats, dogs, ferrets and hamsters seem to be susceptible to COVID-19, transmission may be happening more often than previously thought.
The research, published this month in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, involved 69 cats and 49 dogs, including pets and animals from shelters and neuter clinics.
Pet owners were also asked to fill out an online survey about the nature of their interaction with their animals.
“These data indicate relatively common transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from humans to animals and that certain human-animal contacts _ example, kissing the pet, pet sleeping on the bed _ appear to increase the risk,” said the study.
“We inferred that infections in dogs and cats reflect direct transmission from humans to animals, given the pandemic nature of this virus in humans and limited contact of most household pets with other animals.”
Dogs and cats that lived in shelters showed lower rates of COVID-19 infection compared with those that lived with humans, said study co-author Prof. Scott Weese of the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College.
“It was a fairly substantial difference as we would have expected,” said Weese.
The CFIA has recalled E. coli-tainted carrots, following a U.S. health warning about the contaminated produce linked to one death and dozens of illnesses.
Health Canada said there was an issue with the braking system of the Stokke YOYO baby stroller, sold between August and October this year.
These editorial stories and interviews will focus on the people, companies, research, and innovations leading the environmental and sustainable movement in B.C.
Bennett had just returned from the school run last week when she found the mom and a baby raccoon unconscious, with one of the babies sleeping on the furniture.
B.C. health authorities have announced the first case of a human avian flu infection acquired in Canada, with the teenage patient in critical condition in hospital.
People have been hearing a lot about H5N1 bird flu — or highly pathogenic avian influenza — since a B.C. teen became the first human to get the virus in Canada and is in hospital.
The Liberal government and the NDP negotiated the substance of a pharmacare bill as part of their now-defunct supply-and-confidence agreement.
Kennedy ran as an independent presidential candidate but gave Trump his endorsement with a promise to have a role in health policy in the next Trump administration.
Emergency services are at the scene of a train derailment Thursday morning on Montreal's south shore, where they are urging citizens to stay away from the area.
"I was yelling at them saying get the F** away it’s a wild animal," resident Josh Merrin told Global News. "Sorry about my language."
H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows, with several recent human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers.