Coronavirus tests for pets: Researchers help vet offices test animals for the virus

After several reports showed animals can contract coronavirus from humans, including dogs, cats and even tigers, a lab in Maine is providing veterinarian offices with a diagnostic test to determine if pets have COVID-19.

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. announced its tests will be available in North America this week, according to a release on the company’s website. The company told vets they should order the tests after ruling out other possible infections, consulting a public health authority and identifying whether the symptomatic pet is living with an infected person, Reuters reported.

The tests follow evidence released earlier this month that shows cats and ferrets can get the coronavirus from humans, according to Reuters. At the beginning of April, a tiger at the Bronx Zoo became was the first animal to test positive for COVID-19 in the U.S., McClatchy reported.

IDEXX says these tests should not have an impact on human testing or availability, according to WGME. Health experts and IDEXX both believe coronavirus transmission is primarily person-to-person, and therefore vets should not test asymptomatic pets, WGME reported.

“We have continued to monitor the rapidly evolving public health crisis worldwide, paying special attention to the effects on pets,” Jay Mazelsky, President and CEO of IDEXX Laboratories, said in the company’s release. “While there is currently no evidence that dogs or cats play a role in transmitting the disease to humans, it became clear offering the test was the right thing to do when we saw clinical evidence that pets — especially cats and ferrets — can in rare cases be at risk for infection. And, we heard from our customers around the globe that veterinarians needed a testing option.”

IDEXX will make the tests available worldwide in the coming weeks, according to the release. The company has tested 5,000 samples for COVID-19 in symptomatic cats, dogs and horses in 17 countries, but it found no positive results, IDEXX said.

Those results indicate dogs and cats living with a person infected with the coronavirus are generally safe, except in rare and isolated cases, according to IDEXX. The first dog to test positive for the coronavirus was in Hong Kong back in February, McClatchy reported.

Still, public health officials suggest people who are diagnosed with the coronavirus should give their pets to someone else while they recover, according to the Centers for Disease Control, McClatchy reported.

“If you are sick with COVID-19 (either suspected or confirmed), you should restrict contact with pets and other animals, just like you would around other people,” the CDC said.

This story was originally published April 20, 2020 at 12:35 PM with the headline "Coronavirus tests for pets: Researchers help vet offices test animals for the virus."