The risk of animals spreading COVID-19 to people is considered to be low, according to the CDC.। © Shutterstock.
If you're living with a dog, you need to take extreme hygiene measures as a new study has warned that dog owners are at high risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
According to the study, living with a dog and buying basic products in the supermarket with home delivery were the two main risk factors in the transmission of the COVID-19 virus during the national lockdown in Spain, between March and May 2020. The risk of contracting COVID-19 increased by 78% in the case of living with a dog, and by 94% in that of supermarket home delivery, it said.
The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) and the Andalusian School of Public Health and published in the journal Environmental Research.
However, the researchers are not clear whether the animal acted as a host for the virus and transmitted it directly or the owners picked it up indirectly after the dogs were exposed to objects contaminated with the virus. Therefore, they asked dog owners to take extreme hygiene measures in relation to their pets.
In view of the rapid spread of the virus even during lockdown in Spain, the researchers designed a survey to identify the possible routes of transmission of the COVID-19 disease, risk factors, and the effectiveness of the hygiene measures. It included 2,086 individuals from across Spain.
They found that people who cohabit with a COVID-19 patient have 60 times higher risk of suffering from COVID-19. Surprisingly, the risk of contracting the disease was up to 78% higher among those living with a dog and taking it for a walk. However, having cats or other types of pets had no significant effect on the prevalence of the disease.
In the absence of an effective treatment or vaccine, preventive hygiene measures are the only salvation, noted Cristina S nchez Gonz lez, a researcher at the UGR's Biomedical Research Centre and the main author of this work.
These measures should also be applied to dogs, as they appear to directly or indirectly increase the risk of contracting the virus, she added.
S nchez Gonz lez also pointed out that further studies are needed to determine the reasons behind the prevalence of the COVID-19 virus among dog-owners.
Currently, there is limited information on whether animals play a significant role in spreading the virus that causes COVID-19. But the risk of animals spreading COVID-19 to people is considered to be low, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
There have been reports of cats, dogs, and some other mammals being infected with SARS-CoV-2. But most of these pets became sick after contact with people who had COVID-19.
COVID-19 infection has been reported in mink farms in the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Sweden, the United States, and Greece. But infected farm workers were believed to be the initial source of the mink infections.
The study also noted that disinfecting products purchased from the market once back home can help reduce the risk of possible exposure to COVID-19 virus by 94%.
In the survey, a higher prevalence of COVID-19 infection was detected among those who had purchased their basic products at a supermarket and then used the home delivery service. The risk of contracting the virus increased by 94% in this group. Those who brought their shopping home themselves had lesser risk.
In addition, the survey found that people working outside the home 76% higher risk of getting the virus, especially those using public transport like the underground system or tram network.
