The Dhaka Times Desk Hong Kong health authorities have confirmed that a pet dog has contracted the deadly virus after coming in contact with a patient.
Yesterday (Wednesday), Hong Kong health experts reported this information and said that this is the first case of the corona virus being transmitted from the human body to the body of an animal.
After multiple tests, the Pomeranian breed's pet dog was found to have a mild presence of the corona virus for the first time last Friday. The virus spread through the dog's nose and mouth. The pet dog was sent to quarantine at Hong Kong's Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation for further testing.
The health minister of China's special autonomous region, Sophia Chan Siu-chi, said the dog was tested positive for the virus. Now this dog will be kept in quarantine of agriculture department.
He further said that the pet dog will be further tested and the dog will remain in quarantine till the negative result.
Experts from the University of Hong Kong, City University and the World Organization for Animal Health consulted on the case of the dog being infected with the corona virus. All of these experts have come to a consensus that the risk of contracting the coronavirus in dogs is very low. However, this is the first case of corona infection from human body to dog body.
But a Hong Kong spokesman said there was no clear evidence that pets could be infected with the virus. Keeping pets in the utmost cleanliness has now become important, he commented.
City University animal health specialist Banesa Bars said the tests showed dogs were at low risk of infection. During the Sars epidemic in 2003, the virus spread among several pet dogs.
He added that previous experience shows that dogs or cats infected with the virus never become ill. They don't even spread the virus in the human body. During the Sars epidemic, a very small number of dogs found the virus in their bodies, but they were healthy. But most importantly, there is still no evidence of the virus spreading to humans through infected dogs or cats.
A group of Chinese scientists have warned that the coronavirus has mutated into at least two species since the outbreak began in December last year. Researchers from Beijing's Peking University, Shanghai University and Chinese Academy of Sciences conducted the research and said that two types of the same corona virus are currently infecting the human body. Most people are infected with the most aggressive form.
It is to be noted that 94 thousand 78 people have been affected by the corona virus around the world and around 3 thousand 218 people have lost their lives. Most of the cases of infected and killed occurred in China. An outbreak of this virus occurred in China in December last year. Since then, 50,692 people have been cured after being treated in hospital.
Scientists in Beijing and Shanghai said about 70 percent of those infected were infected with the most aggressive form of the virus. The invasive species started spreading as early as January. Due to which people become seriously ill soon after being infected. However, an older and quieter strain of corona is now causing more infections.
This type of change can also make the virus difficult to treat or identify. At the same time, those who have recovered after being infected have an increased chance of re-infection with the virus. The researchers studied only 103 samples to confirm the mutation pattern of the corona virus. However, the researchers warned that more extensive research is needed on this issue.
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