Animal lovers may be wondering if their pets can be carriers of the new coronavirus, but experts say theresa国际传媒檚 no evidence they can transmit the disease to humans.

Prof. Scott Weese of the University of Guelphsa国际传媒檚 veterinary college said it wasnsa国际传媒檛 surprising that a dog in Hong Kong tested weakly positive for the virus in samples from its nose and mouth.

sa国际传媒淲hat we need to figure out is was that a really rare thing to happen with that dog or is it common and we havensa国际传媒檛 identified yet,sa国际传媒� Weese said in a recent interview.

sa国际传媒淭he big question from the public health standpoint is yes, the dog was infected, but does that mean it is infectious?sa国际传媒�

The animal was a weak positive, which might means the infection wasnsa国际传媒檛 great enough to be passed on but more information is needed, he said.

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The Hong Kong government says pet cats and dogs cannot pass the new coronavirus on to humans, but they can test positive for low levels of the pathogen if they catch it from their owners.

Hong Kongsa国际传媒檚 agricultural department said it found no evidence pets were a source of infection or could get sick themselves with the COVID-19 illness. But it suggested pets from a household of an infected person be quarantined.

In general, pet owners should maintain good hygiene, including washing hands before and after handling their animals, their food and supplies, experts advise. People who are sick should avoid contact with pets and a veterinarian should be contacted if changes in a petsa国际传媒檚 health conditions are detected.

Weese said experts were anticipating a little more risk with cats because SARS, which is closely related to the new coronavirus, was able to infect felines.

sa国际传媒淎nd cats could transmit it cat to cat. So thatsa国际传媒檚 my main concern with this virus would be getting into cats.sa国际传媒�

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Weese said there hasnsa国际传媒檛 been any research on whether the virus can jump between species of pets.

sa国际传媒淚t originally went from animal to person,sa国际传媒� he said.

sa国际传媒淭he question is, has it become a completely human virus or an almost completely human virus or does it have the ability to infect another species and thatsa国际传媒檚 where we donsa国际传媒檛 know.sa国际传媒�

Pets can get various respiratory infections where they cough, have flu-like symptoms for a few days and then they recover, he said, adding that animals to be concerned about are those with underlying problems as well as young or older pets.

Experts are concerned about the virus and livestock, he said.

sa国际传媒淭he more we can prevent people from exposing animals, the less we have to worry about this,sa国际传媒� he said.

sa国际传媒淪o if a farmer doesnsa国际传媒檛 get exposed then we donsa国际传媒檛 have to worry about their livestock.sa国际传媒�

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Research is being done internationally on animal models, including looking at infections in different species, he said.

sa国际传媒淲e know an exceptional amount considering how new this is but theresa国际传媒檚 still so many areas that need to be studied and the animal side, that definitely needs to be done,sa国际传媒� Weese said.

sa国际传媒� With files from The Associated Press.

Hina Alam, The Canadian Press

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