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RE: Coronavirus
An article about the infected dog from the Washington Post --
A pet dog in Hong Kong has a “low-level” infection of the coronavirus that causes covid-19 in people, in what may be the first known human-to-animal transmission of the novel coronavirus that has sickened more than 90,000 people worldwide.
The case has raised the specter that dogs might be swept into the epidemic, which, even now, public health officials say does not appear to infect or be spread by pets. But experts say much remains unknown about the dog’s infection, and they emphasized the lone case is not yet cause for alarm or reassessments about interactions with pets.
The dog is owned by a person who was hospitalized with covid-19, and it has been quarantined since Feb. 26, according to Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. The department said last week that the dog’s “weak positive” test results, from nasal and oral swabs, might have been the result of “environmental contamination,” not infection. But positive tests since then suggest the dog does have a low-level of infection, the department said Wednesday. The animal has shown no symptoms, and a second dog under quarantine in the same facility has tested negative for the virus, the department said.
“At this point, we can say there’s evidence dogs can get infected, but we have no idea what that means for dogs or people … is it one of a million or is it one of 10? We have no idea,” said J. Scott Weese, a professor at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College who studies zoonotic disease. But, he added, “a weak positive would suggest there’s not a lot of virus there.”
Weese said he is less concerned about the possibility of dogs becoming widely infected with the novel coronavirus than he is about cats, which, along with ferrets, were shown to be susceptible to infection with the SARS virus in laboratory experiments. A study published in late January in the Journal of Virology, he noted, predicts the virus that causes covid-19 can attach to receptor cells present in cats, pigs, ferrets and some primates — meaning those species might be at greater risk of being infected.
“The big question for me is: Is it exclusively a human virus, or is it predominantly a human virus right now?” Weese said. “What we don’t want to do is get an animal reservoir,” that could spread the virus, he added, such as feral cats. “But that’s probably unlikely."
That a dog is infected with the virus is not surprising, said Gregory C. Gray, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Duke University. Coronaviruses are “promiscuous” and move between species, he said. The novel coronavirus is believed to have originated in bats and may have passed to humans from pangolins; the SARS coronavirus came from bats via civet cats; and other types of coronaviruses are common among canines.
“Certainly, it raises the hypothesis that perhaps dogs could play a role in the ecology of SARS-CoV-2 transmission to man, but you’d be going way out on a limb to assume that right now,” said Gray, referring to the virus that causes covid-19 in people. “I don’t see any reason to change the social connectivity with our dogs or other dogs or to put any sort of respiratory apparatus on the dogs, like we’ve seen on the Internet.”
Maria van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist serving as technical lead for the World Health Organization’s coronavirus response, said at a news conference Thursday that the dog is an older animal that is “doing well.” The organization and its partners are looking more closely at other pets of covid-19 patients, she said.
Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, told reporters that the role of animals is “always a question” with emerging diseases.
“Are animals intimately associated with the spread of this disease? The answer to that is no,” Ryan said. “This dog was a victim, more than others, and we need to establish quite clearly what part animals might play in further transmission.”
The Hong Kong government said it had consulted with local public health and veterinary experts, as well as the World Organization for Animal Health, before concluding the dog was infected. The dog will remain in quarantine until it tests negative, the agriculture department said, adding it “strongly advises” people who have covid-19 or have had close contact with infected people to quarantine any pet mammals.
But there’s no reason to fear pets, the department said.
“Apart from maintaining good hygiene practices, pet owners need not be overly concerned, and under no circumstances should they abandon their pets,” the department said.
Gail Golab, chief veterinary officer with the American Veterinary Medical Association, said in an email that the Hong Kong dog’s lack of symptoms could mean it “has a low level of infection, but that replication of the virus in the dog has not been sufficient to cause the dog to become ill.” Given that, she said, the association’s advice to pet owners remains the same: Focus on hygiene, and if ill, stay home and away from pets — “including petting, snuggling, being kissed or licked, and sharing food."
Humans can transmit pathogens to animals, though this direction — sometimes called “reverse zoonosis” — is less-studied than animal-to-human transmission, Gray said. Chimpanzees in several countries in Africa, for example, have been hard hit by respiratory illnesses that came from humans.
Most important for now is that people who are infected with or have been exposed to covid-19 think about their pets, too, Weese said — because of the unknowns about their vulnerability to infection, and because a pet can host the virus on its fur or skin, just as cash or a doorknob might.
“If I’m self-isolating at home and living in my basement, away from other people, but my cat comes to sit on my lap, and I cough on it and pet it, and it runs upstairs and rubs against my kid and goes outside, then we’ve maybe got a little bit of a problem,” Weese said. “Consider your cat just like your kid.”
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Pawz4me
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03/05/20 06:45pm |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Shopping by phone or text
I don’t understand how a person can’t make time for shopping.
I'm not so sure that it's "can't" as much as it is "don't want to." People nowadays don't mind paying someone to do things they don't want to do. When I was a kid it was unheard of for middle class people to have a yard service or a house cleaning service. Now it's common, almost ubiquitous in my area. Many people have found that spending some money to free up more of their time for enjoyable things is worth it to them. Of course Walmart's pick up is free and works very well, so . . why not? I've only used it one time, just because I wanted to see how it worked. But I'm one of those weirdos who kind of enjoys shopping. I certainly understand why busy working parents use it.
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Pawz4me
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03/05/20 04:53pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Shopping by phone or text
I've only used Walmart's pickup service one time, but it worked very well and I was very satisfied with the merchandise selected. My neighbor has used it almost exclusively for almost a year. She has three kids, so lots of groceries. And she's very happy with it. I believe they have a very good guarantee as far as quality of produce selected and things like that. When I'm doing my shopping and observe their shoppers they really do seem to be conscientious about what they're picking. I've also observed the shoppers at a local grocery chain, and they also seem to be very conscientious. I wouldn't hesitate to use either.
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Pawz4me
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03/05/20 01:24pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Coronavirus
Deleted -- BCSnob posted at the same time and cleared it up.
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Pawz4me
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03/04/20 11:42am |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Coronavirus
If this source is reliable (and I think it is), then the first case of human-to-pet transmission has now been documented.
Hong Kong health authorities confirmed on Wednesday that a pet dog belonging to a Covid-19 patient had contracted the coronavirus, with experts calling it the first reported case of human-to-animal transmission.
The Pomeranian, which repeatedly tested “weak positive” since last Friday – suggesting it was surface contamination, with the dog picking up traces of the virus in its nose and mouth rather than being actually infected – will now remain under quarantine with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department for further testing.
“It is positive to tests and has been infected, so it is now quarantined in a centre by the department,” health minister Sophia Chan Siu-chee said during a regular press briefing.
“Further tests will be conducted and it will not be released until the tests return negative results.”
The department said experts from the University of Hong Kong, City University and the World Organisation for Animal Health had been consulted, and all “unanimously agreed that these results suggest that the dog has a low level of infection and it is likely to be a case of human-to-animal transmission”.
A spokesman stressed there was still no evidence that pet animals could be a source of infection of Covid-19 or that they could fall sick. He added that apart from maintaining good hygiene practices, pet owners need not be overly concerned and under no circumstances should they abandon their pets.
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Pawz4me
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03/04/20 08:50am |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Preparing for isolation to avoid contact with Corona virus
"Everyone, by the time they reach adulthood, should have some immunity to some coronavirus,” said Tim Sheahan, a coronavirus researcher at University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health."
I'm sure Dr. Doug will be able to address this better than me, but common colds are also coronaviruses. So yes, just about everybody will have "some" immunity to "some" coronaviruses. I'm not sure that means that anyone will have ANY immunity to a novel coronavirus.
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Pawz4me
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03/03/20 02:49pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Preparing for isolation to avoid contact with Corona virus
"The true death rate could turn out to be similar to that of a severe seasonal flu, below 1 percent, according to an editorial published in the journal by Dr. Anthony S. Fauci and Dr. H. Clifford Lane, of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Robert R. Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
I just happened to still have the editorial that the above quote comes from open in another tab. Here it is for anyone who wants to read the full piece --
Covid 19-Navigating the Uncharted
One needs to understand all the numbers, though. And I don't pretend to fully understand them. But I know enough to know that the reproduction rate (the rate of transmission) is very concerning, especially considering this is a novel virus for which no one has any immunity whatsoever. As I said before, focusing on mortality rates alone is shortsighted. It's the sheer number of people who may be infected, even mildly, and the disruption those numbers may cause to our health care systems, our first responders and other essential personnel (and yes--supply chains, too) that is most worrisome to me. And I say that as someone who is on an immuno-suppressant medication, and is the sole caregiver for a person with stage IV cancer, and for an elderly person. All of us can help slow the spread (which protects ALL of us) by doing the basic things the CDC, NIH, etc. are advising--wash hands often, cover coughs and sneezes, self quarantine if you feel sick, etc.
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Pawz4me
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03/03/20 07:24am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Preparing for isolation to avoid contact with Corona virus
the treatments are almost identical
I don't mean to pick on you. I'm sure it probably feels that way. I believe it's very important to stick to facts. And unfortunately the above statement is inaccurate. There is currently no known treatment for Covid 19. There are four antiviral medications that have been proven to treat influenza. The NIH has started a trial to see if the investigational antiviral drug remdesivir might be an effective treatment for Covid 19. I believe China is also doing its own trials.
Remdesivir, developed by Gilead Sciences Inc., is an investigational broad-spectrum antiviral treatment. It was previously tested in humans with Ebola virus disease and has shown promise in animal models for treating Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which are caused by other coronaviruses.
“We urgently need a safe and effective treatment for COVID-19. Although remdesivir has been administered to some patients with COVID-19, we do not have solid data to indicate it can improve clinical outcomes,” said NIAID Director and U.S. Coronavirus Task Force member Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. “A randomized, placebo-controlled trial is the gold standard for determining if an experimental treatment can benefit patients.”
(Bolding added by me for emphasis)
Link
Right now all that can be done for Covid 19 patients is to treat the symptoms and any secondary infections, and try to tamp down the immune response/cytokine storm that is causing most of the deaths.
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Pawz4me
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03/02/20 06:08pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Preparing for isolation to avoid contact with Corona virus
mean basically Corona Virus is a strain of the flu, just easier to identify.
That's false.
Influenza and coronaviruses both cause similar respiratory illness, but they're entirely different viruses. Covid 19 is NOT a "strain of the flu."
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Pawz4me
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03/02/20 04:52pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Preparing for isolation to avoid contact with Corona virus
2 deaths in the U.S., as of March 2, 2020.
Make that six deaths.
Plus I don't believe that the mortality rate is the biggest concern, or at least not for most people. It's that our hospitals and health care systems may be swamped. Estimates are that around 15-20 percent of the people who have the virus have moderate to severe complications. Even if only a small percentage of the population became infected, and if only 15-20 percent of those people required medical care of any sort . . . that's still likely to be a substantial number of people, and perhaps more than the health system in many areas will be able to handle w/o serious struggles. Such a scenario would make it more difficult for anyone with any health issue to get necessary care.
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Pawz4me
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03/02/20 02:31pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Preparing for isolation to avoid contact with Corona virus
Like any virus, seasonal or otherwise, it most severely impacts the very young, very old, and individuals with existing medical conditions, such as immune compromised, cardiovascular problems, respiratory problems or diabetes. Commonsense measures like hand washing are very helpful, and if your wife is immune compromised, avoiding large gatherings in public settings is sensible if you live in an area where coronavirus has been reported.
You mentioned the common cold. Coronvirus is a whole galaxy of virus strains, including the common cold; this is a new strain, how big a problem it will or won't be is yet to be seen. In the meantime, science is on the case.
I agree with all you said except for the very first part. So far everything I've seen indicates that Covid 19 hasn't hit the young very hard at all. That could be a good/bad thing, of course. Good that the kids aren't being hit very hard, bad because they could unknowingly be spreading it to more vulnerable people.
OP, I think it's wise to take prudent precautions. What is prudent will no doubt vary from individual to individual and family to family, depending on risk factors. You sound like you've considered things well.
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Pawz4me
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03/02/20 02:06pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Coronavirus
Dr. Fauci was just on one of the morning news shows, and he reiterated that although they don't yet know the exact mortality rate of Covid 19, it appears to be at least 2 percent. The flu mortality rate is 0.1 percent. So Covid 19 is at least 20 times more deadly than influenza, as far as what the experts know at this point. That correlates with everything else I've heard from reliable sources.
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Pawz4me
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02/29/20 05:34am |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Charge for each pet ??? your thoughts
We look at the final nightly price w/o much regard for how it's tallied. If we're okay with it and feel the campground is worth it then we stay. If not, we go somewhere else.
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Pawz4me
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02/06/20 05:03pm |
RV Parks, Campgrounds and Attractions
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RE: Meet our new camping dog!
Congratulations! She's a cute little fluffball!
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Pawz4me
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02/06/20 05:06am |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Electronic Device Addiction
My 11 year old has had his electronics taken away due to grades - guess what? He spends his time reading now - he's read 30 books since school started.
Good for your son! But you do realize that many people read books on their phones? Both of our sons (early 20's) are voracious readers, almost all of it non fiction. But they do almost 100 percent of their reading on their phones. I'm also a reader (yeah, they get it from me). I prefer my Kindle, but I rarely take it with me when I'm out and about. I use the Kindle app on my phone.
That's a long way of saying--some people who are absorbed in their phones are reading books, not mindlessly surfing IQ-lowering social media drivel.
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Pawz4me
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01/31/20 04:57am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Electronic Device Addiction
I'm not arguing that screen addiction may be--probably is--a legitimate problem. However, I'm always reluctant to judge anyone based on a brief encounter. For all I know that family had spent hours and hours together and the boy needed a break from interaction. Perhaps he's on the autism spectrum or has some other special need. We just don't know when we're judging strangers. My husband, our 21 yo son and I were at a restaurant Sunday night, and after ordering we each got our phones out and tuned out for a few minutes. It did cross my mind to wonder if we were being judged by the other diners, but I certainly didn't care. We'd been working around the house together all afternoon, totally engaged with and interacting with each other. We all needed a brief break.
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Pawz4me
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01/29/20 04:47pm |
Around the Campfire
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RE: Puppy Teething: Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde
IME it's not uncommon for teething to cause some diarrhea. And yeah--needing to go out every 30 minutes is very typical, especially with smaller pups. It's exactly what I strive for when working on housebreaking.
Enjoy this golden period. Puppy adolescence will no doubt strike before too long! LOL
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Pawz4me
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12/22/19 11:01am |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Visiting Family in Memphis, need safe rv park
We spent one night at Tom Sawyer a couple of months ago, and it certainly seemed safe.
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Pawz4me
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12/19/19 02:52am |
RV Parks, Campgrounds and Attractions
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RE: Cost of dental work on a small dog?
Adorable!
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Pawz4me
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12/11/19 10:11am |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Cost of dental work on a small dog?
Congrats on her coming home!
I always tell adopters that the animal will start off on "I don't want them to send me back" good behavior for several weeks. As they start to realize they aren't being sent away (to another home) again, then they will start showing their true personality and will start to push the envelope a bit to see what they can get away with.
Yep. The honeymoon period.
Now I have had a small handful of fosters who were the same from Day 1. Their behavior never changed much at all. Those were the dogs who were naturally calm and laid back. And IME it's a bit different with a puppy mill/back yard breeder dog. Unfortunately some of those never really show a naughty side because they never get over the fear. :( Hopefully one day your little girl will be totally naughty in a funny/harmless way, and you'll know that she knows she's okay now.
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Pawz4me
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12/10/19 04:08am |
RV Pet Stop
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