The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Hong Kong kills 2,000 pets out of fear of infection – but German experts have other findings

2022-01-22T05:26:33.576Z


Hong Kong kills 2,000 pets out of fear of infection – but German experts have other findings Created: 2022-01-22Updated: 2022-01-22 06:17 By: Franziska Schwarz Pets can also transmit Corona – but cases have hardly been documented in Germany so far. © Silas Stein/Imago Cats, dogs and Co. can also get Corona. In China, a drastic case shows the concern of the authorities. These are the current fi


Hong Kong kills 2,000 pets out of fear of infection – but German experts have other findings

Created: 2022-01-22Updated: 2022-01-22 06:17

By: Franziska Schwarz

Pets can also transmit Corona – but cases have hardly been documented in Germany so far.

© Silas Stein/Imago

Cats, dogs and Co. can also get Corona.

In China, a drastic case shows the concern of the authorities.

These are the current findings of German experts.

Munich – Do the domesticated animals also transmit Corona?

According to dpa, Hong Kong, the special administrative region of China, wants to be on the safe side.

Out of concern about the virus, the authorities want to put about 2,000 hamsters and other small animals to sleep.

For Germany, the local Federal Research Institute for Animal Health - the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) - is now positioning itself on the question.

The authority has no evidence of relevant corona transmissions from pets to humans in this country, said FLI spokeswoman on dpa request.

But: So far, 13 infections have been reported from humans to animals, one in a dog and twelve in cats.

Omicrons in dogs, cats and the like: no data to date

But what about the rapidly spreading omicron variant, which has already caused the incidence in Germany to skyrocket to more than 700?

"We don't yet know exactly how omicron behaves in pets," says Reinking.

The omicron effect on humans alone does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the infectivity of pets.

Omicron was apparently not involved in Hong Kong either.

The reason for the planned euthanasia campaign is said to be the case of a pet shop owner.

She was diagnosed with Delta infection in Hong Kong.

Hamsters imported from the Netherlands were then tested positive for Corona in their shop.

Corona dispute: from hamsters to humans?

The planned animal killing provoked protests.

About 25,000 people are trying - so far unsuccessfully - to stop them, the

South China Morning Post

reported .

Scientists, on the other hand, asked for understanding.

It was quite possible that the pathogen was transmitted back to humans from hamsters.

Because there wasn't enough time to gather the genomic information, a quick decision was needed, a microbiologist from the University of Hong Kong told the

South China Morning Post

Numerous corona infections in mink farms in Denmark

FLI spokeswoman Reinking pointed out that transmission of the virus from kept animals to humans had so far only been documented in Danish mink farms.

If someone has Corona and a pet at the same time, what should he or she do to avoid infecting it?

The FLI advises:

  • Avoid close contact with dog or cat

  • Washing hands before and after contact with the animals

  • Getting vaccinated significantly reduces the likelihood of infection

  • Ask acquaintances or friends to help with the care, such as walking the animal

  • However, they should use their own leash if possible

  • A mouth-nose protection for the darling is unnecessary - it would also be animal cruelty

(frs with dpa material)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-01-22

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-27T16:45:54.081Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.