CDC Warns of Possible Human-to-Animal Transmission of Monkeypox

The CDC has updated its monkeypox guidance on animals after research published in medical journal The Lancet revealed evidence of human-to-dog transmission.

Credit: Getty Images
Credit: Getty Images

As monkeypox classified as a public health emergency in the U.S., a new report indicates dogs might be able to get the virus from humans.

The CDC has updated its monkeypox guidance on animals after research published in medical journal The Lancet revealed evidence of human-to-dog transmission. Researchers noted that an Italian greyhound developed 12 days after his two humans, both men, showed indications of the virus.

The couple reported that their greyhound slept next to them and that they prevented the dog from interacting with other individuals or animals once their symptoms started. The research is prompting debate on whether animals or pets would need to be isolated from anyone who has monkeypox.

Dr. Rosamund Lewis, who leads the World Health Organization’s monkeypox response, told the Washington Post that the research is “not surprising information, and it’s something that we’ve been on the watch out for.’ But she added that health experts “don’t know if that dog can go and transmit the infection to anyone else, for example.”

“This is an example where most pets will not be at risk. It may only be those who are actually in the household of someone who’s infected,” Lewis concluded, via WaPo.