According to new research, monkeypox victims may have transferred the infection on to their pet dog.
This might be the first incidence of monkeypox infection in a dog, as well as the first time an animal has been suspected of having monkeypox after coming into contact with an infected human.
Rosamund Lewis, WHOs chief of monkeypox, told The Washington Post that this is the first incidence of human-to-animal transmission that she is aware of. This is new knowledge on multiple levels.
It’s not unexpected, and we’ve been putting up with it.
It is also worth noting that it is uncertain if an infected dog may transmit the monkeypox virus to people at this time. In a report published on August 10 in The Lancet, the researchers recommended for more research into secondary transmissions through pets, referring to situations in which an infected pet spreads the virus to other humans.
According to The Lancet, the most recent case included two males who were checked in early June at the Piti-Salptrire Hospital in Paris, France. Men, on the other hand, are non-exclusive partners who share a house. Six days after having sex with other persons, both had monkeypox symptoms, including rash, lethargy, headache, and fever.
Cases of infection have been predominantly concentrated among men who have sex with men since the outbreak began, however this does not mean that the virus is primarily transmitted through sexual activity or that MSM are more prone to infection. Regardless of sexual orientation or behaviour, the virus may infect and spread to anybody.
Monkeypox is most usually spread from person to person by direct contact with an infected individual’s skin rashes, scales, or body fluids, such as pus, mucus, and saliva, or via contact with bodily fluid-contaminated objects, such as clothing or linens.
This touch can occur during sex as well as during non-sexual interaction. The virus can also be transmitted by respiratory droplets, which are little drops of saliva and mucus released from the mouth.
During extended face-to-face contact or intimate physical contact, such as kissing, this mode of transmission becomes more likely.
Their 4-year-old Italian dog acquired various skin and mucous membrane diseases, including huge pus-filled blisters on its stomach and anus ulcers, 12 days after the two men contracted monkeypox.
A diagnostic test verified the dog’s infection with monkeypox, and genetic study proved that the virus that infected one of the males was similar to the virus that infected the dog.
The patients stated that they allowed the dog to lie in their bed, but after their monkeypox symptoms emerged, they made certain that the dog did not associate with any people or other animals. The dog’s symptoms came roughly 13 days after the men’s symptoms.
According to the researchers’ study, the kinetics of symptom onset in both patients, and therefore in their dog, indicate human-to-dog transmission of monkeypox virus.
On August 12, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States updated its website to incorporate the knowledge that dogs can catch monkeypox. On the same pages, several additional creatures known to be vulnerable to monkeypox are listed, including prairie dogs, gigantic squirrels and rats, hedgehogs, shrews, and monkeys.
Although certain domestic mice and rabbits may get the virus, it is unknown if cats may contract monkeypox.
According to the CDC, those afflicted with monkeypox should avoid contact with animals, including domestic animals and wildlife.
Report the first possible human-to-dog transmission of the monkeypox virus.
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