Report the first suspicion of human-to-dog transmission of monkeypox virus!

Scientists recently reported that people with monkeypox could transmit the virus to their pet dogs.

This potential case of human-to-canine transmission is the first case of monkeypox infection in dogs and the first case of suspected monkeypox from an infected person.

“This is the first case of human-to-animal transmission that we know of,” Rosamund Lewis, head of the WHO’s monkeypox division, told The Washington Post. So, on a number of levels, this is new information. This is not surprising information, and this is what we put up with.”

Lewis added that it is important to note that it is currently unknown whether an infected dog can transmit the monkeypox virus to humans. Describing the first case of its kind, published Aug. 10 in The Lancet, the researchers called for “further investigation into secondary transmission through pets,” referring to cases where an infected animal transmits the virus to other people.

The latest case involved two men who were examined at the Pitiers-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris, France in early June, reports The Lancet. And men are non-exclusive partners who live in the same house. Both developed symptoms of monkeypox, including rash, fatigue, headache, and fever, about six days after intercourse with other people.

Since the beginning of the monkeypox outbreak, infections have been concentrated among men who have sex with men, but this trend does not indicate that the virus is exclusively spread through sex or that MSM are particularly vulnerable to infection. Anyone, regardless of sexual orientation or behavior, can become infected and spread the virus.

Monkeypox is most commonly spread from person to person through direct contact with the skin rash, scales, or body fluids of an infected person, including pus, mucus, and saliva, or with substances contaminated with body fluids, such as clothing or bedding.

This contact can occur during sex, but it can also occur during close non-sexual contact. The virus can also be spread by airborne droplets — small droplets of saliva and mucus that come out of the mouth; This route of transmission becomes more likely during “prolonged” face-to-face contact or intimate physical contact such as kissing.

Twelve days after the two men contracted monkeypox, their 4-year-old Italian dog developed multiple lesions on the skin and mucous membranes, including large, pus-filled blisters on the abdomen and ulcers in the anus. A diagnostic test then confirmed that the dog had monkeypox, and genetic analysis showed that the virus that infected one of the men was identical to the virus that infected the dog.

The patients said they allowed the dog to sleep in their bed, but after they developed symptoms of monkeypox, they tried not to let the dog interact with people or other animals. The dog developed symptoms approximately 13 days after the onset of the male symptoms.

“To the best of our knowledge, the kinetics of symptom onset in both patients, and therefore their dog, suggests human-to-canine transmission of the monkeypox virus,” the researchers wrote in their report.

On August 12, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its website to include information that dogs can contract monkeypox. The same pages list many other animals known to be susceptible to monkeypox, including prairie dogs, giant squirrels and rats, hedgehogs, shrews, and monkeys.

The CDC notes that some house mice and rabbits can also contract the virus, but it is not known if cats can contract monkeypox.

“People infected with monkeypox should avoid contact with animals, including domestic and wild animals, to prevent the spread of the virus,” the CDC said in a statement.

Source: Living Science

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