Pug tests positive for virus that causes COVID-19; first known case in a dog in the US

[Treyfish]

Pug tests positive for virus that causes COVID-19; first known case in a dog in the US

By CNN.COM WIRE SERVICE
PUBLISHED: April 28, 2020 at 8:44 a.m. | UPDATED: April 28, 2020 at 8:46 a.m.
By WRAL Staff

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – A Chapel Hill family’s dog has tested positive for coronavirus.

The family was involved in a study at Duke in which the mother, father and son tested positive for COVID-19. During this study, the family had their pets tested and found out their pug, Winston, had coronavirus.
Dr. Chris Woods, the principal investigator of the Duke study, said, “The virus that causes COVID-19 was detected,” and he believes it’s the first known positive case in a dog in the United States.
The family’s mother, Heather McLean, is a pediatrician at Duke. She said their dog was experiencing mild symptoms. “Pugs are a little unusual in that they cough and sneeze in a very strange way. So it almost seems like he was gagging, and there was one day when he didn’t want to eat his breakfast, and if you know pugs you know they love to eat, so that seemed very unusual,” she said.

“(The dog) licks all of our dinner plates and sleeps in my mom’s bed, and we’re the ones who put our faces into his face. So, it makes sense that he got (coronavirus),” said McLean’s son, Ben.
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The McLeans have four pets: two dogs, a cat and a lizard. The family said the dogs and cat were tested and only Winston tested positive...https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/04/...dog-in-the-us/

[Treyfish]

Guelph vet college looks to test pets of COVID-19 patients

Study to determine transmission of virus between humans and pets

CBC News ? Posted: Apr 29, 2020 6:00 AM ET | Last Updated: April 29

The vets can collect samples through a nasal swab similar to humans, fur samples and rectal swabs as Bienzle says 'there has been strong evidence to show the virus is spread through feces.'

Researchers in Guelph are studying pets who have been living in quarantine with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 or who has had symptoms including a fever and a cough.

Dorothee Bienzle, a veterinarian working in the department of pathobiology at the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) at the University of Guelph and her colleague Scott Weese are calling on pet owners to contact them for at test.

They will swab and test cats, dogs and ferrets to determine if there is a chance the novel coronavirus would carry between human and pet.

"We think that pets are susceptible to infection from people," Bienzle said. "There's no evidence right now that in a household setting there is transmission from pets back to people or to other pets. But these are the sort of things that we don't really know yet and that we hope to find out."..
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitch...d-19-1.5547804

[Treyfish]

Veterinarian warns one dog breed could be more susceptible to coronavirus

Updated April 30, 2020 | 1:42pm

The coronavirus pandemic could be ruff on pugs!

After Winston, a 2-year-old pug in Chapel Hill, North Carolina became the first US dog to test positive for the virus, animal experts told The Post that he may have been more susceptible to the illness due to his breed.

Pugs are predisposed to having weak lungs due to their short and squished-looking noses, according to Annie Harvilicz, a veterinarian and chief medical officer for Animal Wellness Centers hospitals.

“Pugs have brachycephalic syndrome. This gives them the appearance of a shortened snout but causes them to have upper respiratory issues,” Harvilicz said. “It’s possible that being a pug made him more susceptible to the virus.”

Humans with respiratory problems are among those hit hardest by COVID-19, and it stands to reason that the same applies to canines, she said.

Other so-called “brachycephalic breeds” — which often have flat faces and short necks — may be vulnerable, too, she said. They include bulldogs, Chow-Chows and Shih Tzus....https://indiagoneviral.com/health/20...ia-gone-viral/