Pet owners should not panic over the dog that died after COVID-19 infection

the coronavirus The pandemic is often discussed in terms of waves. First waves, second waves. The information surrounding the pandemic works in a similar way, particularly as scientists learn more about how the disease spreads and who or what it infects.

Several companion animals tested positive for COVID-19 during the first days of the pandemic. In March, a 17-year-old dog in Hong Kong became infected. He later died, but COVID-19 is not believed to have been the main cause. Bronx Zoo tigers also found to be infected, probably by a human controller who also tested positive for the disease. Animals were expected to make a full recovery.

Pet owners have long been concerned that their pets may catch or spread COVID-19. Then I published a story about COVID-19 in pets In May, requests for information and help flooded me. “Can my dogs get coronavirus? What if they do what I do? How do I know and can I kill them ?!” asked an email reader. Another asked if they should be careful about transferring COVID-19 between the homes and the cats they care for. Based on the scientific evidence accumulated in COVID-19 related to pets, it seemed that many had nothing to worry about: a very small number of companion animals had been infected.

But a recent story about the death of a dog in the United States has created great confusion.

On Wednesday, National Geographic published a heartbreaking story about Buddy, a seven-year-old German shepherd who recently died months after being infected with SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. It’s a well-researched, well-written, and timely piece that takes a second look at how COVID-19 might affect pets.

According to the report, Buddy became ill with COVID-19 in mid-April. He tested positive for the disease in June, the first dog in the United States to be confirmed positive. On July 11, he died. However, medical records showed that Buddy “probably had lymphoma, a type of cancer.” Lymphoma is a common cancer in dogs that affects the lymph nodes. However, this important point was not passed on in the story headline, sparking a series of similar headlines online.

A day after the story was released on National Geographic, Twitter posted a moment with a headline: “The first dog in the United States to test positive for COVID-19 has died.”

There is nothing inherently false about these headlines. They are factual: friend did positive test for COVID-19. But its cause of death has not been definitively related to the disease. Nor did he test positive for the disease at the time of his death.

“There are many things out there that pose a greater risk to cats and dogs than COVID-19,” says Glenn Browning, a veterinary microbiologist at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

But as is often the case in the media storm surrounding the coronavirus, the nuance is lost in the headlines, causing unnecessary fear and panic. Dude, according to the blood test done after his death, “almost certainly” he had lymphoma.

“This sounds like it was a very engaged dog in the first place,” says Browning.

But as Nat Geo’s piece correctly points out, there is a lack of information on how COVID-19 affects cats and dogs. That’s the central idea of ​​this story: We need more information on how COVID-19 could affect cats and dogs, and we need more transparent reporting on symptoms and possible treatments for infected animals.

But it didn’t sell that way, and in a pandemic in which misinformation is constantly dumped on social media with little scrutiny, that’s a problem because other news organizations do the same, compounding the initial confusion.

As far as scientists know, companion animals do not appear to play a role in the transmission of COVID-19. Owners who have COVID-19 can infect their pets, but the transfer from pet to person has not been recorded.

“There is absolutely no evidence that companion animals play a role in the epidemiology of this disease,” said Trevor Drew, director of the Australian Laboratory for Animal Health, told CNET in May. Browning agrees.

“Clearly, it can sometimes cause illness in dogs,” he says. “What worries me is that people start treating dogs as a cause for concern about human infection and that doesn’t make sense.”

CDC’s official advice is to “limit your pet’s interaction with people outside your home.” He also suggests restricting contact with pets and animals if you are sick. If your pet gets sick, call the vet and tell them they have been sick with COVID-19.