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According to a statement from the Animal Health authorities of the Ministry of Agriculture, they warned that three dogs tested positive for SARS CoV-2.
They would be the first animals in our country to become infected with Covid-19, which were subjected to molecular PCR tests, two are in Mexico City and one more in the State of Mexico.
Although all three are out of danger, so far it has not been shown that they can transmit the disease.
We have so far 25 notifications where there was a suspicion, most of them were dogs, some cats, and even a Bengal tiger in a zoo. We have detected 3 positive cases using the PCR technique, which is the same one used for people, ”revealed Roberto Navarro López.
This Commission operates within the Animal Health Directorate of the National Service of Health and Food Safety ( Senasica ), of the Ministry of Agriculture and established a surveillance program in Mexico from the beginning of the pandemic to attend to possible cases of contagion. of Covid-19 in animals.
It is in coordination with the Federation of Colleges and Associations of Zootechnical Veterinary Doctors of Mexico, for which recommendations were issued directed to the country’s veterinarians to detect possible cases in pets and wild animals exposed to infected persons.
In this way, veterinarians from 12 states of the country have notified the CPA of a total of 25 suspected cases; it involves 16 dogs, 8 cats, and 1 Bengal tiger. Mexico City has reported 6 cases, two of which were positive.
In order for us to attend a notification, they (the veterinarians) have to be certain that they were animals that were in contact with people with covid-19; in other words, there was a real possibility of transmission, we did the same with doctors from all zoos, because they have animals that can be susceptible, such as primates, felines and canines ”, highlighted Navarro López.
The official stressed that none of the three dogs is related to each other, and they are stable; He highlighted that scientists from Senasica’s 17 biosafety laboratories are working hard, studying the disease in the first confirmed cases. In addition, he indicated that later serological tests will be carried out to analyze if they generated antibodies.
Navarro López stressed that so far it has been shown that infected pets have not infected other humans.
Neither dogs nor cats play a role in the maintenance and dissemination of viruses and, as the World Health Organization has mentioned, rather they are victims of some rapprochement with their owners who could have been infected; that animals, in turn, are transmitting the disease, this has not been proven, “he said.
For this reason, he called on people who have pets to stay isolated from the rest of their family members and their pets, in case of getting sick with covid-19, in order not to affect them.
For this disease, the animals are not posing any risk. In Denmark, what happened with minks, which is a species that we do not have here in Mexico, was the mutation of the virus, for which they had to sacrifice, but this is not the case for Mexico, “he stressed.
All the reports that have been had are very minor illnesses; no animal mortality has been reported from covid-19. The message is that people continue to take care of their pets and animals and that if one is sick then not have contact with animals; It is the main thing so that it is not going to harm them, ”said Roberto Navarro.
