[Nature] Infection of dogs with SARS-CoV-2

Nature, 14 May 2020

Thomas H. C. Sit, Christopher J. Brackman, Sin Ming Ip, Karina W. S. Tam, Pierra Y. T. Law, Esther M. W. To, Veronica Y. T. Yu, Leslie D. Sims, Dominic N. C. Tsang, Daniel K. W. Chu, Ranawaka A. P. M. Perera, Leo L. M. Poon & Malik Peiris

Highlights:

• Two out of fifteen dogs from households with confirmed human cases of COVID-19 in Hong Kong SAR were found to be infected
• Both dogs had antibody responses detected using plaque reduction neutralization assays.
• Viral genetic sequences of viruses from the two dogs were identical to the virus detected in the respective human cases.
• The animals remained asymptomatic during quarantine.
• The evidence suggests that these are instances of human-to-animal transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
• It is unclear whether infected dogs can transmit the virus to other animals or back to humans.

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東方日報：港大研究發現 登國際期刊 新冠兩犬由人類傳染

South China Morning Post: Hong Kong’s infected dogs were asymptomatic and close contacts of confirmed patients