Can Your Pet Give You Swine Flu?
Can Your Pet Give You Swine Flu? Photo: Watchcaddy/Flickr.com
Dogs and cats are able to contract H1NI (swine flu), but so far there is no evidence that they can give it to you.
Dr. Louise Murray, director of medicine at the ASPCA Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital in New York City, told the New York Times in November 2009:
“There is no evidence to date that any human has been infected with influenza by a pet, or of infection being transmitted from one cat to another, from a dog to a cat, or vice versa.”
Dr. Murray did say that tests have confirmed H1N1 influenza was passed from humans to a cat, and she also cited examples of ferrets contracting the flu from humans. There have since been more cases of sick cats as well as reports of dogs with swine flu (in China).
“We’ve known certainly it’s possible this [animals with H1N1] could happen,” said Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If you are a pet owner who has flu symptoms, just use some common precautions to protect your pets: wash your hands frequently, cover your mouth if you sneeze or cough, and try to avoid close contact with your pet while you are sick (for example, no sleeping with the pet). There’s no need to wear a surgical mask, and definitely no need to put a surgical mask on your pet — that’s just asking for a choking accident.
Dr. Michael Norton, a veterinarian at Best Friends Animal Hospital in Great Falls, Montana, told KFBB News Channel 5, “There’s no reason to panic or to give away animals or anything like that. What we are seeing is that it’s more of a human-to-pet transmission type of situation, so in order to protect your pet, just be careful when you’re confined indoors with them if you think that you may have flulike symptoms.”
And in the off-chance you think your pet may be ill, contact your veterinarian. “Animals infected with H1N1 generally exhibit mild respiratory symptoms, or none at all,” said Dr. Murray.
