A dog in Hong Kong has a low-level infection of the new coronavirus
A pet dog in Hong Kong has a low-level infection with the new coronavirus that the animal may have gotten from its owner, raising concerns that the virus currently spreading around the world can infect pets (SN: 3/4/20). But experts say it’s only a single case so far, and there is currently no evidence that pets can actually get sick from the virus or pass it to people or other animals. “We don’t believe that this is a major driver of transmission,” Maria Van Kerkhove, a technical consultant with the World Health Organization, said in a news conference on March 5. “It’s only one example … and so of course it deserves much more study,” she said. Nasal and oral swabs from the dog, whose owner was infected with the new coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2 because of its similarity with the 2003 SARS virus, had tested weakly positive, though the animal wasn’t showing any signs of disease,...