Coronavirus: can pets transmit Covid-19?

Rising coronavirus infections worldwide raise the question of whether your own pets pose a potential risk of infection.

• Droplet infection is considered the main transmission path of the coronavirus.
• Distance to others and regular and thorough hand hygiene protect against infection.
• Many worry about their own four-legged friends: can they become ill and even transmit corona viruses?

Update from April 6th, 2020: Institute of Virology reports possible transmission from human to animal

Virologists at the Institute of Virology at the Free University of Berlin examined whether the coronavirus can be transmitted from humans to dogs or cats or from these to humans. " There seems to be a transmission from humans to pets under natural conditions, " says Klaus Osterrieder, virologist at the Veterinary Department of the Free University, one of the research results. So far, however, there is no evidence that infection of dogs or cats favors contagion in humans.

According to the scientists, cats in particular are at risk of becoming infected with Sars-CoV-2. Ferrets are also among the animals in which the virus can reproduce well. "The previous experimental investigations suggest that cats can become carriers of the virus more than dogs, " says virologist Osterrieder.

First report from March 3, 2020: Can the virus be transmitted to pets?

100,186 reported coronavirus infections in Germany cause many people to take protective measures. This does not only include regular hand washing *. Also important: You should adhere to the distance rule that was imposed by the federal government: at least 1.5 meters away from others should minimize the risk of infection .

The World Health Organization (WHO) speaks of Covid-19 in the new lung disease that is currently keeping the world on its toes. The pathogen, which was previously referred to as 2019-nCoV, was given its own name: Sars-CoV-2 . Since early 2020, 1,289,380 coronavirus infections have been reported worldwide. So far, there have been 70,590 deaths, the World Health Organization reported. (As of April 6, 2020)

More on this : End of the Covid 19 pandemic finally in sight? Virologist with a positive prognosis .

Coronavirus: Can you get infected from your own pet?

According to the current state of knowledge, droplet infection is the main transmission pathway for coronaviruses *, as reported by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) as the federal authority for infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases. "This can happen directly from person to person via the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract or indirectly via hands, which are then brought into contact with the oral or nasal mucosa and the conjunctiva," says a RKI publication.

Getting infected by other means is rather unlikely, as the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) reports: "There are currently no cases in which it has been proven that people take other ways, for example through eating contaminated food or through imported toys infected with the novel corona virus (...) ". Cases in which Sars-CoV-2 has been transmitted to humans by pets are also not yet known .

Also read : Coronavirus in Germany: What everyone can do to avoid becoming infected .

WHO gives the all-clear: Pets are not coronavirus carriers

The WHO also gives the all-clear on her Instagram account regarding the transmission of the virus by pets :

Check out this post on Instagram

Here are some facts about the new #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) #MythBusting

A post shared by World Health Organization (@who) on Jan 28, 2020 at 7:56 am PST

The post says: " At the moment there is no evidence that pets like dogs or cats can become infected with the novel coronavirus * . Nevertheless, it is always a good idea to cover your hands with soap and water after contact with pets This protects you from various common bacteria, such as E. coli and salmonella, which are transferable from animal to human. "

Sources : www.rki.de; www.experience.arcgis.com; www.rki.de/fallzahlen; www.bfr.bund.de; www.fu-berlin.de

Survey on the subject

Read more : Comparison of coronavirus and flu: How the two viral diseases differ.

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* merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network .