Serological examinations showed that four dogs and one cat in Croatia had a covid-19 infection, and about 120 of them were in contact with the coronavirus. Everyone is alive, healthy, and happy today.
A study conducted by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine on 1,500 pets began the day after the first case was recorded in Croatia, and confirmed that pets do not transmit or spread the coronavirus, reports RTL.
”Dogs actually develop a very weak infection. So not like us. We excrete large amounts of the virus, and dogs excrete small amounts of the virus if they excrete the virus at all. So, they develop antibodies, but the question is whether they have ever been a possible source of infection for someone else,” said Vladimir Stevanovic, study leader at the Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
The research has been conducted since February, and as the number of cases in humans grows, it grows proportionally in dogs as well. Blood for research was taken from dogs and cats who had to draw blood for some other reason. But if someone wants to test a pet for a covid, a classic swab like in humans, it can’t do so for no good reason.
”If the dog is sick, of course, we will test him. In such cases, we also tested the dog because, of course, the primary thing is to protect that animal, that is, to provide it with help,” Stevanovic points out.
Some countries also require a negative coronavirus test for pets when entering their country. And that is a good reason for testing, which in that case you will pay around 500 kunas.