Monkeypox in dogs: How to care for your pet

Even as monkeypox cases rise steadily across the globe, information about the virus remains limited.

Recently, a report from France, published in the medical journal Lancet, revealed that an Italian greyhound had caught the virus -- setting panic among pet parents and prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to advise people infected with monkeypox to avoid exposing animals to the virus.

According to the report, the dog, belonging to a couple who said they sleep alongside the animal, wound up with lesions and other symptoms soon after its owners tested positive for monkeypox. The two men infected with the virus were non-exclusive partners who lived in the same household. Subsequently, the dog was diagnosed with monkeypox.

Read | WHO urges caution after dog catches monkeypox

While monkeypox infections have been detected in rodents and other wild animals who can spread the virus to humans, authors of the Lancet report called this the first case of monkeypox in a domesticated animal.

So, how can you protect your pet from monkeypox? What are some signs your pet could be infected? What else is known about the human-to-animal transmission of monkeypox? DH brings you the answers.

How to protect your pet from monkeypox?

The findings of the Lancet report indicate that the virus can be transferred from humans to animals.

Transmission of monkeypox virus occurs when a person comes in contact with the virus from an animal, human, or materials contaminated with the virus. The virus could enter the body through broken skin (even if it is not visible), respiratory tract, or mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, or mouth.

To prevent the spread of the virus it is therefore essential to avoid contact with not only other humans but also animals, including pets, domestic animals, and wildlife.

Read | Monkeypox can spread to pet dogs, doctors report

Stay away:

The CDC further warns against surrendering, euthanizing, or abandoning pets for fear of contracting the infection. It also warns against wiping or bathing your pet with chemical disinfectants, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or other products, such as hand sanitiser, counter-cleaning wipes, or other industrial or surface cleaners.

Instead, the CDC recommends that a person infected with monkeypox stay away from pets for 21 days. Petting, cuddling, hugging, kissing, licking, sharing sleeping areas, and sharing food should be avoided as it could result in the transmission of the virus.

Similarly, pets that had close contact with a symptomatic person with monkeypox should be kept at away from other animals and people for 21 days after the most recent contact. Infected people should not take care of exposed pets.

What should you do if you have monkeypox and have a pet?

If you have monkeypox and must care for your healthy pets while isolating at home, wash your hands, or use a hand sanitiser, before and after caring for them.

People with monkeypox ensure that their pet does not come in direct contact with skin or uncovered rash. They should therefore cover skin rashes by wearing long sleeves, long pants, gloves, and a mask while providing care for animals.

Besides avoiding close contact with a pet, one should ensure that a pet does not come into contact with contaminated articles such as clothing, sheets, and towels used by the person with monkeypox. This includes bandages, clothes, bedding, etc.

Signs that your pet might be infected

There is still limited information on the symptoms that infected animals may have.

The CDC recommends watching out for the main symptoms of monkeypox seen in humans, such as blister-like rash and flu-like symptoms, including fever, fatigue and swollen lymph nodes.

Symptoms usually appear within three weeks of infection.

What to do if your pet has been infected?

The CDC advises that pets that came in close contact with a symptomatic person should be kept at home and away from other animals and people for at least 21 days after the most recent contact or until fully recovered.

People who are immunocompromised, pregnant, or have young children present should not provide care for animals that have had close contact with a person with monkeypox.

While providing care for an animal with monkeypox, the CDC recommends wearing personal protective equipment as well as washing hands regularly.

When viruses jump the species barrier it often sparks concern that they could mutate in a more dangerous direction, Rosamund Lewis, the WHO's technical lead for monkeypox had noted. As soon as a virus moves into a different setting in a different population, there is a possibility that it will develop differently and mutate differently.

She noted that waste management is critical to lower the risk of contaminating rodents and other animals outside the household. The main concern revolves around animals outside of the household, she said.

It is of utmost importance that people "have information on how to protect their pets as well as how to manage their waste so that animals in general are not exposed to the monkeypox virus".