In Paris, a four-year-old greyhound contracted the monkey pox virus, it would be a first. According to researchers, twelve days after the appearance of pus-filled lesions in its masters, the animal would in turn be covered in suspicious blisters. Thanks to screening tests, we now know for sure that one of the two men and the dog were infected with the same strain of smallpox.
In July, this virus, which is transmitted by physical contact, was declared a “public health emergency of international concern” (USSPI). Currently there are 44,503 cases in 96 countries and territories different.
Given the closeness we have with our pets, “this was not a surprise,” according to Colin Parrish, a professor of veterinary virology at Cornell University and an expert in novel canine viruses. This was part of the theoretical risks, as we pet and kiss our dogs, cuddle them on our laps, and share food with them. It’s not uncommon for them to lick us and sleep with usas did the greyhound in question, points out Colin Parrish.
Although the dog recovered, this case raises concerns among pet owners who wonder if their dog or cat can transmit the virus to them and who fear for their health.
According to Colin Parrish, these fears are largely unfounded. “Don’t overreact. Do not panic. The risk is very low. With tens of thousands of human infections recorded, if dogs were really exposed, “we would have seen a lot of cases right now,” he says. The documented case is unique, which makes him say that it is safe to take your dog to the park or pet daycare.
CAN DOGS TRANSMIT THE VIRUS?
As Jeff Doty, head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) One Health team tasked with fighting monkeypox, relatively little is known about monkeypox in animals. company like dogs and cats.
The study listing the case of the greyhound gives few details about the animal’s symptoms or the severity of its illness. The CDC has, however, compiled a list of symptoms that dogs may exhibit: lethargy, refusal to feed, runny nose or eyes, rash with blisters.
It is not yet known whether dogs that contract the virus are likely to pass it on to other dogs, wildlife, or even pass it back to humans. According to Jeff Doty, it depends on how much virus they spread and how they do it.
It is still not known whether dogs or other species are able to amplify and then spread the virus in sufficient quantity for the disease to occur, he recalls. Although researchers have found that some animals like prairie dogs seem able to spread monkeypox through nasal secretions and through their excrement“we just don’t know if that’s the case for dogs”.
In any case, points out Colin Parrish, if you rub shoulders with a dog with lesions, it is possible to become contaminated but “the most important risk remains human-to-human contact”.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR PET?
Although the number of cases continues to rise, “the majority of the general population is not at risk of contracting monkeypox”, tempered Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Program. (WHO), during a press conference last week. And to add that “animals and our companions do not currently present a risk to humans”.
In fact, it’s quite the opposite: humans are more of a risk to animals. Public health agencies warn those who contract monkeypox should avoid contact with pets, livestock and wildlife in general.
In the event that a pet has not been exposed, the CDC recommend the symptomatic person to entrust it to members of his family or to other people while he recovers and to disinfect the house before the animal returns. If unable to do so, the agency recommends isolating the animal and keeping it in quarantine for 21 days.
Some people sometimes have no choice but to keep their pets with them. “Normal, common-sense precautions will almost certainly suffice,” says Colin Parrish. He says it’s important to wear clothes that cover the rash, wash your hands, use hydroalcoholic gel, wear gloves and a mask when around them, and keep them away from contaminated linens and towels. It is crucial to manage your waste conscientiously so that the virus does not spread to animals in the neighborhood who may be rummaging through the trash.
The CDC warns against the temptation to bathe your pet in disinfectants, alcohol, hydroalcoholic gel or any other chemical that can poison it.
If you are unlucky enough to contract monkeypox and your pet exhibits either lesions or two or more symptoms within twenty-one days of exposure, the CDC advises referral to your veterinarian.
Vigilance is key. There are effective human vaccines and “we should try to control and eradicate the virus in humans if we are allowed to”, according to Colin Parrish. But no qualified vaccine is available for dogs and cats.
“We have to be careful,” warns Mike Ryan. Because the more viruses spread, “the more they can evolve”.
ANIMAL-TO-HUMAN TRANSMISSION
Like about 60% of human diseasesmonkeypox is zoonotic: it is from the animal world and spread to humans. The disease was named in 1958 after it was discovered in laboratory monkeys living in captivity in Denmark. However, it is essentially a rodent virus.
The main animal reservoir of monkeypox remains an enigma. There could actually be several. Public health experts know, however, that small rodents (genus squirrels He was going to die et Heliosciurussavannah cricetomas and African dormice) are carriers of the virus in the tropical forests of Central and West Africa where it is endemic.
The first human case of monkeypox was diagnosed in 1970, twelve years after its discovery. For decades, infections likely occurred by “spillover”; the virus was transmitted to humans when they handled infected animals by hunting, butchering or eating them.
In 2010, reports of human-to-human transmissions started to emerge. And in 2017, a localized outbreak took place in Nigeria. The virus is now present in populations around the world.
NEW HOSTS?
While the risk to dogs and cats appears to be low, information regarding the type of susceptible animals to contract the disease are limited.
Squirrels, monkeys, great apes and some types of rats and mice can be infected, as well as hedgehogs, shrews, chinchillas and other small mammals. As far as cows are concerned, the question remains unanswered. There is indeed a cousin of monkeypox (cowpox) that infects cattle. However, we do not yet know if there is a risk for cats, gerbils, rabbits, hamsters, raccoons, skunks, among other species…
There is great concern about potential contamination of American rodent populations, which often live in large social groups. The prairie dog colonies of the American West are part of this list. In 2003, a shipment of 800 small mammals imported into Texas from Ghana to be sold brought monkeypox to the United States. Prairie dogs that were caged next to them caught the virus and then infected 47 people come to buy them, having touched them, having been bitten by them or having simply been in the same room.
Some laboratory studies, however, bring good news. Indeed, according to Jeff Doty, the ubiquitous city rats of the genre Rattus that plague cities around the world appear to develop immunity to monkeypox just days after birth.
With the increase in the number of human cases, public health specialists are on the alert. According to Andrea McCollum, epidemiologist of the initiative 2022 Monkeypox Outbreak Response put in place by the CDC, reverse transmission from human to animal could create new endemic reservoirs and entirely new chains of transmission,
“What we don’t want to see happen, warns Mike Ryan, is a disease that crosses the species barrier. This would potentially make monkeypox impossible to eradicate.
“Adapting to a new host allows a virus to evolve, with the ability to grow and mutate differently,” explains Rosamund Lewis, Technical Director for Monkeypox at WHO. In other words, the virus could become more or less contagious, weaken or become more virulent.
“We know that genetic changes are happening, reveals Jeff Doty, but we do not know what [qu’ils] can mean with respect to the propensity or ability of the virus to infect various animal species. »
“However, when zoonotic viruses infect a new species, they usually find themselves at an impasse,” says Sylvie Briandin charge of global infectious risk preparedness at the WHO.