Yasmina Kattou
A first case of monkeypox transmission from humans to dogs was reported in the medical journal “The Lancet”. Two infected men transmitted the virus to their greyhound in Paris. At the microphone of Europe 1, Gilles Pialoux, head of the infectious and tropical diseases department of the Tenon hospital in Paris, gives advice to avoid any contamination.
A first case of monkeypox transmission from humans to dogs was reported last week in the medical journal The Lancet. These are two infected men who transmitted the virus to their greyhound in Paris. Infected people were instructed to stay away from their pets, as experts were aware of the theoretical risk of this type of transmission.
“The virus can circulate in pets”
“There, it’s just a demonstration of what is called reverse transmission”, explains on Europe 1 Gilles Pialoux, head of the infectious and tropical diseases department of the Tenon hospital in Paris. “That is to say that instead of passing from the animal to the man, it comes back to the animal. And there, we have the demonstration that it can also circulate in pets with either the contacts, either droppings, saliva, etc. It is exactly the same as human-to-human transmission. There is indeed a possibility that it increases the circulation loop of the virus.
Wear gloves and a surgical mask near the animal
Gilles Pialoux has several recommendations to avoid any contamination: “If you have a pet, if possible, before each contact with the animal, wear single-use gloves and even wear a surgical mask near the animal. and put all your waste in bags that are provided for this purpose. It’s quite heavy,” he admits.