Dog gets monkeypox from its owners. Does this change what we know about the virus?

The first case of human-to-dog transmission of the monkeypox virus has been reported in France, prompting the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to update its guidance on the outbreak, CBS News reports. The dog was believed to have been infected through close contact with its owners, who are non-exclusive male partners living together.

Evidence

In a paper published in The Lancet last week, a team of scientists said there’s now evidence to support the theory of human-to-dog transmission of the monkeypox virus which is spreading fast. Until recently, it was unclear if dogs could be infected with the viral disease which has was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization.

It is believed that the dog may have caught the virus after sharing a bed with its two owners who started showing symptoms of the disease days after sleeping with other partners, CBS News reports. According to the researchers in The Lancet study:

To the best of our knowledge, the kinetics of symptom onset in both patients and, subsequently, in their dog suggest human-to-dog transmission of monkeypox virus

Pet isolation

The main mode of transmission is through close contact with lesions and bodily fluids of an infected person. A good number of cases were linked to sexual intercourse, but the virus isn’t classified as an STI.

In the case documented in the study, the four-year-old Italian greyhound also presented with symptoms similar to those of its owners. It is not unknown for wild animals including rodents and primates to carry the virus in countries where it is endemic. However, this is the first documented case of infection in a domestic animal. The researchers advise:

Our findings should prompt debate on the need to isolate pets from monkeypox virus-positive individuals

Read more:

⋙ Monkeypox: Record number of cases being reported, but how contagious is it?

⋙ Monkeypox or pimples? How to tell the differenceb

⋙ British Airways crew forced to isolate in Singapore due to monkeypox