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First dog coronavirus suspect confirmed in Hong Kong

Global Times

By Wang Qi Source:Global Times Published: 2020/3/5 15:34:55

A virologist has suggested that dogs might get a different strain of coronavirus than human beings, after the world's first case of a pet dog testing positive was reported in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region authorities on Wednesday said that the dog, which had small numbers of coronavirus detected in its oral and nasal cavity samples at the end of February, tested positive again in the latest checkup.

The dog has not shown any symptoms and is now under quarantine and observation at an animal holding facility near the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge port. Authorities said they will return the dog to its owner until the following tests show consecutive negative results.

Yang Zhanqiu, a virologist at Wuhan University, told the Global Times on Thursday that the positive result does not necessarily mean the dog has been infected with the same coronavirus as human beings.

According to Yang, it is not normal to see viral transmission between dogs and human, so the positive test result might have been caused by another kind of homologous dog coronavirus, especially when the precision of the current nucleic acid test kit is still being improved and it is unable to only detect COVID-19.

Furthermore, Yang noted that it was also possible that the test result was due to environmental contamination of the dog's mouth and nose, as its owner was already infected.

An employee with a test-kit company in China, surnamed Li, told Global Times that the method used in Hong Kong involves testing the dog's secretions. If the virus was found in its secretions, that only means the dog is carrying the virus. But if the virus doesn't get into the blood, or if it can't attack the dog, the pet won't get sick.

The dog is not currently showing any symptoms.

However, a Wuhan-based frontline expert who requested anonymity warned that the possibility of pets becoming infected with COVID-19 or becoming a source of infection to people cannot be completely ruled out.

Hong Kong authorities on Wednesday strongly recommended that mammalian pets of coronavirus patients and their close contacts should be quarantined and undergo a checkup with the health authority.

The authority also stressed that there was no evidence suggesting pets could spread coronavirus or get ill from it, and reminded owners not to abandon their pets.

A Beijing-based animal specialist, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times on Thursday that the cases are not representative of a wide range, and more cases and data need to be analyzed.

Experts from Hong Kong institutes and the World Organization for Animal Health previously agreed that the dog had a low level infection, and had very likely been infected by humans, Hong Kong's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said in an official statement.