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| Photo Credit: Scene from "A Dogs Purpose". |
Doctors are warning that pet dogs are at risk of getting the rapidly spreading monkeypox virus as the disease can transmit from person to animals. Health officials lead by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned people infected with the virus to stay away from household pets.
A report
from France, published last week in the medical journal Lancet revealed how an
Italian greyhound caught the virus, The Associated Press reports.
Can monkeypox be spread from humans to dogs?
The Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention for months has had the advice in place as
monkeypox spreads in the U.S. But it gained new attention after a report from
France, published last week in the medical journal Lancet, about an Italian
greyhound that caught the virus.
The dog
belongs to a couple who said thy sleep alongside the animal. The two men were
infected with monkeypox after they had sex with other partners and wound up
with lesions and other symptoms, according to The Associated Press. The
greyhound was later diagnosed with the virus having developed lesions.
The Associated
Press reported that monkeypox infection have been detected in rodents and other
wild animals, which can spread the virus to humans. The authors of the report
described the case as the first report of monkeypox infection in a domesticated
animal like a dog or cat.
The CDC
advises that pets that come in close contact with a symptomatic person should be
kept at home and away from other animals and people for 21 days after the most
recent contact, according to The Associated Press.