The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday asked people infected with monkeypox to avoid exposing animals to the virus, after a first reported case of human-to-dog transmission.
A first case of monkeypox transmission from humans to dogs was reported last week in the medical journal. the lancet – two infected men who transmitted the virus to their greyhound in Paris.
“First case of human-to-animal transmission”
“This is the first reported case of human-to-animal transmission … and we believe this is the first time a dog has been infected,” Rosamund Lewis, the WHO’s technical officer for monkeypox, told reporters.
Experts, he said, were aware of the theoretical risk of this type of transmission and know that public health agencies have already warned infected people to “stay away from their pets.” However, he stressed that “waste management is essential” to reduce the risk of contamination from rodents and other animals outside the home.
When a virus crosses a species barrier, it often raises concerns about a possibly more dangerous mutation. But according to Ms Lewis, there is no information at this time to say that this is the case with regard to monkeypox.
“However, it is true that as soon as the virus moves into another environment that affects another population, there is obviously a chance that it will develop differently and mutate differently,” he said.
The main concern is animals that live outside the home.
More than 31,600 cases worldwide
“The most dangerous situation occurs when a virus moves through a population of small mammals with a high density of animals,” WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told reporters.
“It is through the process of one animal infecting the next and the next and the next that you see the rapid evolution of the virus,” he said.
According to him, there is little to worry about pets. “I don’t think the virus evolves faster with just one dog than with just one person,” he said, adding that while “we have to remain vigilant, pets are not a risk.”
According to the latest WHO report, 31,665 cases of monkeypox have been recorded worldwide, including 12 deaths. The WHO triggered the highest level of alert on July 24, the “public health emergency of international interest”, to strengthen the fight against the disease.
Source: BFM TV
