Record pets.

Put a stop to blaming pets

CORONAVIRUS. Everyone is talking about it. Everyone has suddenly started washing their hands. Everyone is asking about it.

For our pets, the answers were simple. Yes, just like herpes virus and many others, there are many types of coronaviruses that exist in animals, including mammals, birds and fish, but they are species-specific.

Thus, there is a coronavirus that causes infectious peritonitis in cats and another that can result in mild intestinal disease in dogs. But they don’t infect or affect humans. This is common for viruses.

Herpes, for example, can cause cold sores and chicken pox in humans, while other strains are involved with respiratory disease in cats and dogs.

And then there was that moment. The authorities in Hong Kong announced that a Pomeranian dog picked up from a flat at Tai Hang had tested a “weak positive” for

March 14 Clackmannanshire Canine Club’s open show at 9.45am in

BY NEIL McINTOSH coronavirus and all hell broke loose.

But stop a moment. The dog was and remains unaffected. It seems most likely that the result occurred because of contamination of the dog’s mouth and nose from a human coronavirus patient with whom it lived, so this may be a case of human to animal infection.

Certainly, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association maintains there is no evidence that Covid-19 can infect pets or that animals can transmit the disease, although it admits that the situation is “evolving”.

Time will tell but in the viral world it would be most unusual if it turned out that animals could be affected.

In the meantime, people who become infected with Covid-19 who own pets are

Bo’ness Recreation Centre East of Scotland Cocker Spaniel Club’s Open Show in Cochrane Hall, Alva at 9.30am advised to contact their local health protection team and inform them of the presence of animals in the house.

Naturally, it would be prudent to restrict contact with pets under these circumstances and to wash hands and wear masks if you need to handle them.

And that’s frightening enough. But the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), the governing body of vets in the UK, issued “advice and reassurance” for vet professionals stating that it appreciated that our first concern will be for animal health and welfare. But it acknowledged we may be anxious about our “decision making” with respect to our obligations in these difficult and changeable circumstances.

The RCVS assured us we would be fine as long as we acted reasonably in light of all available information and evidence.

I fear that may be the least of our worries. Keep washing.

March 15 Hunt, Point, Retrieve Club of Scotland’s open show in Ladywood Leisure Centre, Penicuik at 10.30am