Wednesday 25 May 2022 10:10 PM Patients are warned that stroking animals could spread monkeypox further trends now
Monkeypox patients will be told to keep their distance from family pets in official guidance to be issued later this week.
The advice from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs will warn of a potential risk of human-to-animal transmission.
European health officials have already expressed concerns that animals on the Continent could become permanent reservoirs of disease if it is allowed to make the jump.
Advice from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs will warn of a potential risk of human-to-animal transmission for monkeypox
This would increase the odds of it becoming endemic in Europe.
Now the UK’s Defra is drawing up guidelines in an attempt to limit the risk of monkeypox patients infecting the likes of cats, dogs and rabbits.
There are also fears infected patients could contaminate their pet’s fur and the illness be passed on to others in their household.
Seven more cases of the virus were identified in England, taking the UK total since May 7 to 78, the UK Health Security Agency said yesterday.
Justine Shotton, president of the British Veterinary Association, said she believes the risk of infecting pets is low but was ‘supportive of a cautious approach’.
‘It would be a sensible decision to keep your distance from a pet while in quarantine,’ she said.
‘If I was diagnosed with monkeypox I would do whatever I could to limit contact, such as asking a friend or relative to take care of it.’
She added: ‘There is currently no evidence of transmission between humans and cats and dogs but we know rabbits
