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Virus Fears=Abandoned Pets
#1
The world is currently experiencing an outbreak of a new deadly coronavirus. It  originated in China, but is spreading slowly around the world. This is similar to the experience the world had with the SARS virus. The Hong Kong branch of the SPCA has noticed the same reaction towards pets as happened during the SARS crisis. People start disposing of their pets. The bring them to the shelters, they abandon them or they just get rid of them. There is no indication that the pets then or now posed any danger for people. Pets certainly are not the source of either virus. Reacting and getting rid of pets is not a protection for the people and it causes acute stress for the pets.

https://www.asiatimes.com/2020/01/articl...e-of-pets/

I will never understand why people over react to things. Following the advice of the health department can keep you safe. Reacting to unfounded fears of pets won't keep you safe and might give a false sense of security that is actually more dangerous. The world has a history of this kind of behavior. I hope this time common sense will prevail, but somehow I think it won't.
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Catherine

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#2
Oh how terrible and so sad! I found myself thinking of this today...wondering what might be happening to animals in the cities in China which are in lock-down...while sending out prayers to all the people there who must be very afraid, especially for their young children and old people.

Now this is very sad to learn about!

Whatever the source of the virus....the wildlife which was sold illegally at the Wuhan seafood market....or what...it does NOT seem connected at all to our dogs, cats, or other companion animals.

And now of course, any wildlife animals which may have been connected with the virus mutating and crossing from animal to human, is history, because it's only human-to-human infection we have to be concerned about, because that is how it is spreading right now.

I hope there haven't been any cases in Canada Catherine? I haven't kept track of that.
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#3
The whole thing reminded me of the pets that were disposed of at the beginning of the second world war. 
People over reacted then and they are over reacting now. The source of the virus will turn out to be some form of wildlife from the Wuhan Fish Market. There are so many things they are doing wrong there. That is a whole different discussion and I will do a different post about the market.

People's pets are clean and well looked after. They are no danger to their people. It hasn't been shown that pets can actually be infected with the virus. Pets were not the source of SARS either.

We have two cases in Toronto, a husband and wife. They came in on a plane from the source of the infection. He is in hospital in isolation and she has kept herself isolated at home. So far the people who were on the plane with them have not  shown signs of the virus. Now we are waiting to see if there will be new cases.  We learned during the SARS outbreak so I think we will handle this situation well. A  lot of people were quarantined in their homes before we got SARS under control. We can do it again only better this time. I admit, two weeks at home with Netflix and lots of rest doesn't sound too bad. I am not even slightly at risk though. I has been years since I flew anywhere.

I just wish people wouldn't take things out on their pets whenever there is a crisis.
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Catherine

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#4
Yes there are two confirmed cases in the UK as of today. I heard on the morning news that they were in the Newcastle area. I suppose a watch has to go out for new cases. Apparently the virus is contagious even when people have not yet become iill, and the safest isolation period is 12-14 days, though the incubation period is said to be 2-5 days. So time wil tell if new cases emerge.

The authorities do seem to be handling it well here as far as I can make out. Meanwhile country-wide now here, supplies of near-useless face masks have crashed. Add to that a shortage of the almost-useless hand sanitiser gels.
Nobody stops to think that a virus is 0.004 to 0.1 microns, and bacteria are much bigger, so most face masks, except an N95 or N99 face mask would let a virus in! People also seem to forget that for full protection one would also need wrap-around eye goggles! Yet nobody seems to be rushing to buy those.

So there does appear to be some thoughtless panic involved.

And yes, I also wish animals didn't have to bear the results of our mindless panic. We are NOT going to catch coronavirus from our dogs, cats or other animals, but if we do, it will be from another human or surface they have touched.

Treating our companion animals that way is another example of thoughtless panic and lack of knowledge.
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#5
Quote:Nobody stops to think that a virus is 0.004 to 0.1 microns, and bacteria are much bigger, so most face masks, except an N95 or N99 face mask would let a virus in! People also seem to forget that for full protection one would also need wrap-around eye goggles! Yet nobody seems to be rushing to buy those.
I have even dealt with someone who is panicking about his pets being dangerous and he is walking around with a scarf over his face. 
That won't stop anything. Those small masks are for protection against dust. They give people a false sense of security. So does the hand sanitizer. They are more likely to expose themselves because they think they are safe. The general population is just being silly about the danger and how to handle it.

It is our health departments that have this under control. We now have three people who are sick in Ontario and they have been isolated. The first patient has even been sent home from the hospital. So far all our cases returned from China with the virus. There has been no spread to anyone else.

I imagine your health departments are on alert like ours. If someone is a suspected case they are isolated. They have a test for the virus so they can be sure fairly quickly. This is actually under control in our countries. Declaring the virus a global health emergency makes it easier for health departments to react the way they need too. It also makes it easier to ban air travel from some areas until this is under control.

The one thing we don't need to do is blame our pets.
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Catherine

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