Two Beijing dogs catch flu
- Source: Global Times
- [08:07 November 30 2009]
- Comments
By Huang Jingjing
Two dogs were diagnosed with the A(H1N1) flu virus last week in Beijing but an animal health expert quickly stressed that the chance of dog to human contamination is slim.
The Ministry of Agriculture said Saturday that two dogs in the capital were tested positive for A(H1N1), and tests showed that it was 99 percent identical to the virus in humans. These are the first reported cases of dogs getting the virus.
The ministry received a report from China Agricultural University on November 25. The university tested 52 swabs from dogs.
Earlier, four pigs in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province were diagnosed with the virus.
Experts believe that the animals caught the virus from humans.
"This is China's first confirmed case of A(H1N1) in dogs, and the second case of that in animals," said Chen Jiming, director of the supervision depart-ment of China Animal Health and Epidemiology Center.
Chen added that the public should not worry about getting the virus from dogs. "The possibility that people contract the virus from animals can almost be ignored," he said.
Another expert from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Agriculture agreed.
"From cases that occurred in foreign countries like the US and Canada, they all found the virus in animals came from infected humans. But the animal-to-human transmission is still under investigation and is yet to be confirmed," the unidentified expert told the Beijing Times.
Chen said the virus's reproduction rate is greater among pigs than dogs because pigs live in groups.
He added that infected animals could be cured with drugs. China has seen some variations of the flu virus but experts don't see a need for concern.
"But people needn't worry about that. The impact of the variation is very small and wouldn't increase its virulence," he said.
The ministry called for intensified monitoring and investigation of A(H1N1) flu in animals after the discovery of the virus in dogs. It also urged local authorities to further enhance prevention and watch for virus mutation in animals.
So far, 13 countries have reported infections among animals, reports said.
