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By Josh Ryan

Scruff scrubbed

Vets say treat animal transmission with similar caution

Apr 17, 2020 | 5:00 PM

Concerns over possible transmission of coronavirus from an animal are being met with similar advice to staying safe from human transmission.

Dr. Kent Weir, President of the Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association, said uncertainty over transmission with animals and humans makes it hard to plan around the level of risk.

“We know we’ve found it in animals,” Weir said. “The question becomes, were those animals actually exhibiting signs from specifically coronavirus or signs from a virus.”

He recommends continuing to follow guidelines regarding hand washing and avoiding your face still apply if you’re in contact with animals outside your home. That means treating those interactions the same way you’d treat fomites – objects that can carry infections, like doorknobs.

“If I cough onto my pet and then you pet my pet and chew your fingernails, or something of that nature, you could get exposed to the COVID-19 virus that way,” Weir said. “I think that’s probably the bigger risk at this point.”

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Washing pets who’ve been outside is another step that could prevent transmission. However, choice of soap and thoroughness of washing matters, especially with dogs.

“It’s porous, it’s warm, it’s hard to disinfect,” Weir said.

Caution in dealing with other humans should also affect interacting with pets or wild animals. Battlefords Humane Society Executive Director Michelle Spark has cautioned people from going up to touch strays on the street during the pandemic.

“If they come into contact with your clothes, change your clothes when you get home,” Spark said. “And wash them before you have any contact with your animals or family at home.”

Spark said the shelter has continued to take extreme measures to protect cats, dogs and prospective owners.

“If they’re getting adopted, they’re either adopted right from the foster home, or if they’re coming back into the shelter, they’re wiped down again when they get here.”

Weir said owners of ferrets should take the most care, as they seem to catch respiratory illnesses frequently from humans. When it comes to the likelihood of wildlife transmission however, he said it is much lower than urban creatures.

“The chance of some sort of wild animal coming into close enough contact with a human being that they’re actually going to transmit COVID to it,” Weird said. “That would be an overreaction at this point.”

And while caution is key, Spark hopes people will continue to enjoy interaction.

“If you can use your animals to make you happy and make your heart feel happy, I think you should.”

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josh.ryan@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports