NC Dog Is First Known COVID Case In Canines

Raleigh’s NBC News affiliate reports:

A Chapel Hill family’s dog has tested positive for coronavirus. The family was involved in a study at Duke in which the mother, father and son tested positive for COVID-19. During this study, the family had their pets tested and found out their pug, Winston, had coronavirus.

Dr. Chris Woods, the principal investigator of the Duke study, said, “The virus that causes COVID-19 was detected,” and he believes it’s the first known positive case in a dog in the United States.

The family’s father, Samuel, works in the emergency room at UNC Hospitals. The family’s mother, Heather McLean, is a pediatrician at Duke. She said their dog was experiencing mild symptoms.

COVID has previously been detected in lions and tigers at the Bronx Zoo and in two house cats in New York state. It’s not currently believed that pets can transmit the virus to humans. The CDC recommends that pets be kept inside or away from humans from outside their household.

Chapel Hill family’s dog tests positive for coronavirus; first known case in a dog in the US https://t.co/PUvw4mb4l9

— Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) April 28, 2020