Covid-19 cannot be transferred by domestic animals
The NSPCA is deemed an essential service and will be attending to animals in need during the lockdown
CONTRARY to speculation doing the rounds on social media, pets cannot infect their owners with the coronavirus.
As confirmed by the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA), there is no evidence that Covid-19 can be transmitted from domestic animals to humans.
‘It is unclear whether or not this virus is transmittable from wild animals to humans, and therefore we continue to strongly discourage interactions with wild animals, not only for ethical reasons, but now for health reasons too,’ said the NSPCA on its Facebook page.
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The NSPCA further cautioned the public to not rely on news spread by entities that are not directly involved in the study of the Covid-19 virus.
‘It has come to light that misinformation relating to the Covid-19 virus is being circulated, implying that domestic animals are the source of transmission. This is simply not true.’
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there is no evidence that a dog, cat or any pet can transmit Covid-19.
The virus is spread through droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or speaks.
‘We implore the public to thoroughly research information from reliable sources such as the WHO (www.who.int).’
‘We also remind the public that while they are taking care of themselves, to remember their animals at this time too,’ the NSPCA said.
The NSPCA is deemed an essential service and will be attending to animals in need during the lockdown.
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