Given the zoonotic nature of the coronavirus, can we
inadvertently give our pets the COVID 19 despite of observing stay-at-home
guidelines?
By: Ringo Bones
Zoonotic diseases – also known as zoonoses – are diseases
caused by bacteria and viruses that spread between animals and people.
Unfortunately, the COVID 19 virus has mutated into something that became a
global pandemic back in March 2020 – and sadder still, it seems that pet owners
can give their pets COVID 19 despite strict adherence to stay at home
guidelines, not to mention it can virtually be impossible to social distance
from your cherished pet during a pandemic lockdown.
The possibility of people making their cherished pets sick
with COVID 19 arose when a tiger at the Bronx Zoo tested positive for COVID 19
and likely got the disease from the zoo’s animal handlers. Testing your pets if
they got the COVID 19 virus has been a contentious issue since the WHO declared
the disease a global pandemic due to the shortage of test and – currently – the
tests are prioritized to essential and at risk personnel – i.e. front-line
doctors and supporting healthcare workers. There has even been an outcry when
that tiger from the Bronx Zoo got a COVID 19 test became headline news given
that some doctors and nurses still await to be tested due to possible exposure
due to lack of adequate personal protective equipment like masks and face
shields.
When a pug from Chapel Hill, North Carolina became
patient-zero of COVID 19 in dogs in the United States after that tiger in the
Bronx Zoo tested positive for COVID 19 has raised concerns given that it is
virtually impossible to social distance from your pets during a lockdown. Not
to mention that some towns and cities have ordered veterinary clinics to close
during the ongoing COVID 19 lockdown because they are not considered as “essential
businesses”.
