COVID-19 and your piggy
COVID-19 and this virus may affect your companion pig
Written by: Kerri Cooper-Bailey MS (Virology) DVM
We made a post a few days ago about the coronavirus and pets, but not pigs specifically. So we reached out to a veterinary advisor on our team to help us understand how this disease may affect our porcine friends.
We know that many of us out here are affected by the current state of affairs. Most of us may never even see the horrid coronavirus, but we are all looking to buy toilet paper, have our children at home because schools have closed down, drive through our main streets just to see a ghost town and we are all wondering what on earth does this have to do with me, my family, or my pets?
Well, I know so many of you out there are like me and in times of emergency, we are there to protect those we love, and our pet family members are no exclusion. With the mass hysteria of coronavirus this and COVID-19 that, how do we know what is real and what is hype? Unfortunately, our top medical folks are learning about this illness a day at a time, but still, the best help is to go to your animal health professionals. Many of us out here are well educated and equipped to answer any of your questions about your furry, feathery, and scaly friends with the knowledge to back up what we say. But...to help jump start everyone here, I will try to put this all together for you, as briefly as I can, to help you feel safer in your own home (while most of us in the US are on a kind of house arrest for the next two weeks).
Animals as the initial cause of this mess? Very likely. Many pandemics have had a beginning in some species of animal, bats do appear to be a big one but, at one time, it was being blamed on pigs, however, it will be quite some time before we will know exactly the who, what, where, and when of that very first case (case zero). As of right now, the question many want to know is are my pets a risk to me? No. With all the cases around and even though there may have been initially involved an animal, no outbreaks are happening in any of our animal friends. So, do not be afraid of your beautiful piggy or puppy.
Now, the recommendation, at this moment, is that if you are positive, you may want to limit your face-to-face time with your pets, to protect them, just in case. We still have a lot to learn about this specific virus and when you love on your babies, it's hard to know if there will be any effects, so, it's in their best interest to be cautious. The CDC still says you should keep distance from your pets if you do get sick with COVID-19—“just like you would with other people,” the agency’s site states. “Although there have not been reports of pets or other animals becoming sick with COVID-19, it is still recommended that people sick with COVID-19 limit contact with animals until more information is known about the virus.”
What about Chinese dog foods? Livestock? We still have very strict means of testing imported products and animals and will continue to do so during this outbreak. Our livestock also appear to be safe in this country. As of today, all imported products and animals still seem to be quite safe as well. Dog parks or outings to Petsmart? Well the animal interaction part seems safe, but, it may not be best for you to interact with other humans during these times.
So, fear not your beloved pets and spend some extra snuggle time with them (since you may not have much else to do) knowing your baby is safe at home with you. This also means you can stop your search for a n95 mask for your pig. It’s ok for your pig to be outside, it’s ok for your pig to come into the house, it’s ok for you to continue with your normal pig routine.
As we have learned, the situation with COVID-19 is continuously changing. Please continue to check www.coronavirus.gov for updates. There is also a section on the CDC website for pets https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/index.html.
We will continue to update this page with the latest information as it becomes available to us.
Written by: Kerri Cooper-Bailey MS (Virology) DVM
We made a post a few days ago about the coronavirus and pets, but not pigs specifically. So we reached out to a veterinary advisor on our team to help us understand how this disease may affect our porcine friends.
We know that many of us out here are affected by the current state of affairs. Most of us may never even see the horrid coronavirus, but we are all looking to buy toilet paper, have our children at home because schools have closed down, drive through our main streets just to see a ghost town and we are all wondering what on earth does this have to do with me, my family, or my pets?
Well, I know so many of you out there are like me and in times of emergency, we are there to protect those we love, and our pet family members are no exclusion. With the mass hysteria of coronavirus this and COVID-19 that, how do we know what is real and what is hype? Unfortunately, our top medical folks are learning about this illness a day at a time, but still, the best help is to go to your animal health professionals. Many of us out here are well educated and equipped to answer any of your questions about your furry, feathery, and scaly friends with the knowledge to back up what we say. But...to help jump start everyone here, I will try to put this all together for you, as briefly as I can, to help you feel safer in your own home (while most of us in the US are on a kind of house arrest for the next two weeks).
Animals as the initial cause of this mess? Very likely. Many pandemics have had a beginning in some species of animal, bats do appear to be a big one but, at one time, it was being blamed on pigs, however, it will be quite some time before we will know exactly the who, what, where, and when of that very first case (case zero). As of right now, the question many want to know is are my pets a risk to me? No. With all the cases around and even though there may have been initially involved an animal, no outbreaks are happening in any of our animal friends. So, do not be afraid of your beautiful piggy or puppy.
Now, the recommendation, at this moment, is that if you are positive, you may want to limit your face-to-face time with your pets, to protect them, just in case. We still have a lot to learn about this specific virus and when you love on your babies, it's hard to know if there will be any effects, so, it's in their best interest to be cautious. The CDC still says you should keep distance from your pets if you do get sick with COVID-19—“just like you would with other people,” the agency’s site states. “Although there have not been reports of pets or other animals becoming sick with COVID-19, it is still recommended that people sick with COVID-19 limit contact with animals until more information is known about the virus.”
What about Chinese dog foods? Livestock? We still have very strict means of testing imported products and animals and will continue to do so during this outbreak. Our livestock also appear to be safe in this country. As of today, all imported products and animals still seem to be quite safe as well. Dog parks or outings to Petsmart? Well the animal interaction part seems safe, but, it may not be best for you to interact with other humans during these times.
So, fear not your beloved pets and spend some extra snuggle time with them (since you may not have much else to do) knowing your baby is safe at home with you. This also means you can stop your search for a n95 mask for your pig. It’s ok for your pig to be outside, it’s ok for your pig to come into the house, it’s ok for you to continue with your normal pig routine.
As we have learned, the situation with COVID-19 is continuously changing. Please continue to check www.coronavirus.gov for updates. There is also a section on the CDC website for pets https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/index.html.
We will continue to update this page with the latest information as it becomes available to us.