Pets that come into contact with people with monkeypox should be quarantined to make sure they don’t spread the virus to people or other animals, US health officials said after US health officials said. A dog was reported to be infected with the virus in Paris.
According to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Friday, because monkeypox can be spread through close contact with an infectious person, people who test positive should be careful. when hugging or petting animals. The CDC says pets can also contract the virus through blankets or other household items used by a patient, and if pets appear sick, owners should contact their veterinarian.
The Atlanta-based CDC said: “Pets that have had close contact with a person with symptoms of monkeypox should be kept at home and away from other animals and people for 21 days following close contact. most here,” said the Atlanta-based CDC. statement on its website August 12. “Infected people should not care for exposed pets.”
The CDC updated its guidance after a dog was reported to have contracted monkeypox from its owner in what is believed to be the first case of human-to-dog transmission. The four-year-old gray hound developed the lesions nearly two weeks after its owner, an unfaithful gay couple, began showing symptoms of monkeypox, according to the report. a report published August 10 in The Lancet Medical journal. The dog’s owners, both positive for monkeypox, said they allowed the dog to sleep in their bed.
The authors of the Lancet study conclude: “Our findings will advance the debate about the need to isolate livestock from monkeypox virus-positive individuals. “We call for further investigation into secondary transmission through pets.”
Monkeypox is an animal-to-human virus that, like the coronavirus that causes SARS, MERS, and Covid-19, can be transferred from person to animal. During previous outbreaks of monkeypox, the virus was mainly spread to humans by direct contact with infected animals, including by consuming their meat.
In 2003, monkeypox spread to 47 people in the US who came into contact with infected prairie dogs. According to the CDC.
Smallpox in monkeys can also transfer to animals from humans, which experts have warned could complicate efforts to contain the current outbreak. Other animals susceptible to monkeypox infection include squirrels, groundhogs, chinchillas and dogs, the CDC said. Rabbits can be susceptible to infection, and it is not known whether cats are infected.
Outbreaks have spread mainly among men who have sex with men, mostly through close, intimate contact, but animals can also contract the virus if they come into contact with someone who has an infection. possibility of infection. But recent reports of animals contracting smallpox in monkeys have led to widespread misinformation on social media – prompting a response from World Health Organization experts.
Rosamund Lewis, WHO technical lead on monkeypox, called a since-deleted tweet from a New York doctor “intentionally misleading” because it appeared to suggest that The pet hound in Paris may have contracted the virus sexually from its owner.
“Orthopoxvirus infection usually causes mucosal lesions regardless of mode of transmission,” Lewis writes. “As a urologist, you should know this.”
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