Pets should be isolated after monkeypox exposure: CDC
Guidance comes after reports of a dog being infected by its owners, the first such case
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WASHINGTON • Pets exposed to people with monkeypox should be isolated to ensure they do not spread the virus to other people or animals, US health officials said after a dog was reported to be infected with the virus in Paris.
Because monkeypox can spread through close contact with an infectious person, people who have tested positive should be careful when cuddling or petting animals.
This is according to guidance issued last Friday by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Pets may also pick up the virus through blankets or other household items used by patients, the CDC said.
If a pet appears to be sick, owners should contact a veterinarian.
"Pets that had close contact with a symptomatic person with monkeypox should be kept at home and away from other animals and people for 21 days after the most recent contact," the Atlanta-based CDC said in a statement on its website dated Aug 12.
"Infected people should not take care of exposed pets."
The CDC updated its guidance after a dog was reported to have contracted monkeypox from its owners in what is thought to be the first case of human-to-dog transmission.
The four-year-old greyhound developed lesions almost two weeks after its owners began showing symptoms of monkeypox, according to a report published on Aug 10 in The Lancet medical journal.
The dog's owners, who both tested positive for monkeypox, reported allowing the dog to sleep in their bed.
"Our findings should prompt debate on the need to isolate pets from monkeypox-positive individuals," the authors of the Lancet study said, adding: "We call for further investigation on secondary transmissions via pets."
Monkeypox is a zoonotic virus that can jump from humans to animals.
Meanwhile, Bavarian Nordic, the only company with an approved vaccine for monkeypox, has said it is no longer certain it can meet demand as cases continue to rise across the world.
The Danish company is exploring the possibility of outsourcing some of the production, including technology transfer to a US contract manufacturer.
"It's a very dynamic market situation," Mr Rolf Sass Sorensen, a vice-president at the firm, said by phone yesterday.
"Demand keeps rising and it's no longer certain that we can continue to meet the demand we're facing even with the upgrade of our existing manufacturing site in Denmark."
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