The COVID-19 epidemic continues spreading. Now, there are reports from Hong Kong that a pet has become infected. The dog of a confirmed patient tested "weak positive" for novel coronavirus in samples taken from its mouth and nose. However, the dog does not have any symptoms. Further tests are needed to determine if it is really infected or it simply was contaminated by the virus.


According to news reports, a dog belonging to a COVID-19 patient in Hong Kong has tested "weak positive" for the virus.

The dog tested "weak positive" for novel coronavirus, but has no related symptoms. There are currently no other animals at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge animal shelter but extra efforts will be made to clean and disinfect the shelter. Although the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department says there is currently no evidence that pets can get infected or fall ill or transmit COVID-19, it will continue closely monitoring and testing the dog in question.

The dog's owner was hospitalized on the 24th and diagnosed with COVID-19 on the 25th. Her domestic helper was diagnosed on the 26th. Later in the day, Hong Kong's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department picked up the dog for tests. Samples taken from the dog's oral and nasal cavities tested "weak positive" for novel coronavirus. The dog does not have any symptoms. Officials say further tests are needed to determine if the dog is actually infected or just contaminated.

Because the pet owner loves her dog, she may have often been in close contact with it, like kissing it or whatever. Samples from the dog tested "weak positive," but this doesn't mean it will get sick or can infect others. However, it's safer to keep it under observation in quarantine.

This is the first possible non-human mammal case in the world. One vet says there have been no other reports of infected pets and there is no need for panic. However, everyone should always wash hands with soap after touching a pet to minimize the risk of bacterial transfer.



武漢肺炎疫情各國確診病例數也逐步攀升，現在更傳出香港一名確診個案家中的狗，在口、鼻中驗出新冠病毒弱陽性。

「對新型冠狀病毒呈弱陽性反應，狗隻沒有相關病徵，港珠澳大橋口岸動物居留所，無其他動物，會加強清潔消毒，漁護署指雖然現在未有數據證明，寵物會感染而發病，或傳播新型冠狀病毒，但署方會密切監察有關狗隻，進一步抽取樣本化驗。」

這名香港確診個案是在2月24號開始住院，25號確診，26號她的家傭也確診，漁護署人員同日傍晚接走確診個案的寵物狗送往動物拘留所，並從其口腔、鼻腔及肛門抽取樣本進行新型冠狀病毒測試，結果在狗的口腔鼻腔樣本中，驗出弱陽性反應，但現時並無任何相關病徵。是否真的感染，還是只是沾染到病毒還要進一步確認。

獸醫師 謝庭智表示：「飼主因為很愛狗，可能跟狗會有很親密的接觸，可能會接吻或幹嘛的，正好有驗到，有弱陽性的病毒在狗的身上，但是又不代表牠會感染發病，隔離起來觀察這樣比較安全。」

根據世衛的資料，暫時沒有紀錄有人類以外的哺乳類動物，被驗出新型冠狀病毒的案例，獸醫師也說，目前沒有其他寵物傳出疫情，民眾不必過度恐慌，但還是提醒，民眾與寵物接觸後，還是得用肥皂清洗雙手，以減少任何常見的細菌在人類和寵物間傳播。