Commentary/Letter to Editor
COVID-19 and pets: When pandemic meets panic

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsir.2020.100090Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • No convincing evidence exists to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 causes illness in pets.

  • There is no evidence that pets play a significant role in spreading COVID-19.

  • Unfounded fears among the public have negatively impacted the welfare of pets.

  • SARS-CoV-2 is another infectious disease arising at the animal-human interface.

  • A One Health approach will be important to prevent future COVID-19 outbreaks.

Abstract

As the novel coronavirus outbreak spreads globally with devastating effects on human health, pets are also becoming unnecessary victims amidst the pandemic panic. Many have been reluctantly left home alone by owners who have been forced to temporarily evacuate their homes. And, although no evidence exists to indicate that they can either transmit the virus or develop its associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), fear among the public that pets might play a role in spreading COVID-19 has resulted in pets being abandoned or even killed. This article outlines some of the ways in which the current pandemic has negatively impacted the welfare of pets. It also highlights the relationships between animal, human, and environmental health, as well as the importance of taking a collaborative transdisciplinary One Health approach to help prevent future COVID-19 outbreaks.

Keywords

Animal coronaviruses
COVID-19
One health
Pets
SARS-CoV-2
Zoonotic disease

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