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The coronavirus was also diagnosed in a dog. It is the first case in Italy, second Nicola Decaro, 47, Senior Lecturer in Infectious Animal Diseases at the University of Bari and Member of the Executive Board of the European College of Veterinary Microbiology.
Traces of the virus have been detected in a one and a half year old poodle, who lives in Bitonto together with a family of four, all positive and with symptoms. The dog, on the other hand, has no particular symptoms and continues to live indoors. The first positive swab in the dog dates back to November 5, a result that was later confirmed by subsequent tests.
He was the scientist from Bari (brother of the mayor Antonio Decaro) to diagnose the dog. The same scientist who, since the first wave of the pandemic, has been studying cats and dogs for the coronavirus. He did so with swabs made, among other things, by the Milan veterinary hospital on pets living at home with people who are fighting the virus. But so far, the vet had found several cases of dogs and cats positive for serology, a sign that they had contracted the virus in the past by developing antibodies.
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“This time we had several positive swabs: about fifteen nasal, oral and rectal. But the viral titer was very low,” explains Decaro. “It means – continues the expert – that the dog is not capable of infecting, because even if it is infected, the virus is present in modest amounts, so to speak. So what was already known on the basis of scientific literature is confirmed international”. The owners themselves made the swabs on the poodle and then sent them to the specialist’s laboratory in Bari.
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That it is also pending blood analysis of the animal to perform serological tests. Decaro’s advice is “don’t panic.” “We must treat animals exactly as if they were other people. Therefore, also to protect the health of our animals, it is advisable to entrust them to non-positive friends or relatives who can take care of them, if possible.” And again: “The principle of maximum precaution is always applied, although we know that, I repeat, they are not a danger to our health. The risk of contagion from dogs or cats is almost nil. Around the world there will be about twenty documented cases ”, concludes Decaro.
