The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed that a dog was infected with monkeypox as a result of human contact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response to the first human-to-dog transmission of the virus, Dr Rosamund Lewis, technical lead on the World Health Organisation’s monkeypox response team, said the case should serve as a warning to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is the first case reported of human-to-animal transmission. This has not been reported before, and we believe it is the first instance of a canine being infected,\u201d Lewis outlined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHowever, this is has been a theoretical risk \u2013 you may see that a number of public health agencies have advised those who contract monkeypox to make every effort to isolate from their pets because of this hypothetical risk \u2013 particularly in the household for domestic pets (but also) risks of contamination of animals outside the household, for example, for those accessing garbage and things like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Mike Ryan, director of the W.H.O.\u2019s Health Emergencies program, said: \u201cIn this particular case, transmission to a dog in a closed domestic setting, (with) one animal infected, is not unusual, it\u2019s not unexpected.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat we don\u2019t want to see happen is disease moving from one species to the next, and then remaining in that species (and) moving around within a new species because that\u2019s when the virus can adapt, and then adapting to that new species (the virus) is incentivised to evolve as such.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the Associated Press, the dog belongs to a couple who said they share a bed with the family pet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The infection received renewed attention following a report from France published last week in the medical journal Lancet about an Italian greyhound who contracted the virus while living in Paris with two gay owners.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed that a dog was infected with monkeypox as a result of human contact. In response to the first human-to-dog transmission of the virus, Dr … <\/p>\n