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\nDogs and Ebola \u2013 What We Know
\nThe association between Ebola and dogs has been all over the news lately. After potentially being exposed by their infected owners, a Spanish dog, Excalibur, was euthanized, while a Texas dog, Bentley, is being held in isolation at an undisclosed location. The disparate handling of these two cases raises the question \u2014 what risk do dogs really pose when it comes to the transmission of the Ebola virus?
\nWe do know that Ebola has the ability to infect certain types of animals in addition to humans. Antibodies to the virus are widespread in African fruit bats. Many scientists think that fruit bats may be the natural hosts for Ebola since they do not appear to become sick from the virus, but they do shed it.
\nNonhuman primates react like people when infected with Ebola, becoming very sick and often dying. Forest antelope can also become infected. Researchers noted that during an Ebola outbreak in Gabon in 2001-2002, \u201cunexplained deaths of animals had been mentioned in the nearby forests\u201d and \u201csamples taken from their carcasses [primates and antelopes] confirmed a concomitant animal epidemic.\u201d Pigs can become infected with the \u201cReston\u201d variant of Ebola, but this strain does not make people sick.
\nContact with fruit bats and\/or wild animals hunted for food are the most likely initial sources of infection in human Ebola outbreaks. Ebola is a zoonotic disease (a disease that can be transmitted from animals to people) even though by far the most common route of transmission once an outbreak has started is person to person.
\nAll of this means that concerns about dogs living in close contact with Ebola victims are not unreasonable. In fact, research looking at the Gabon outbreak showed that approximately 25 percent of the dogs in the region had produced antibodies against the Ebola, indicating they had been exposed to the virus. This does not mean, however, that the dogs actually \u201chad\u201d Ebola or could transmit it to people or other animals.
\nAs the Centers for Disease Control says on its website, \u201cAt this time, there have been no reports of dogs or cats becoming sick with Ebola or of being able to spread Ebola to people or animals.\u201d
\nA few weeks ago, I spoke to Dr. Ronald Harty, associate professor of microbiology at Penn Vet, about his research into a potential drug to combat Ebola. I think he explains the situation best. As quoted in Delaware Online, The News Journal:
\n\u201cThe dog’s immune system reacted to the virus it came in contact with but did not replicate it,” Harty said. That means the dog’s body recognizes there was a threat present and created antibodies to fight it, but the virus didn’t create more copies of itself and spread, as a viral infection does. “It is highly unlikely a dog, cat or any other domestic animal could contract or transmit the disease.\u201d
\nBecause of this extremely low chance of disease transmission, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association recommends that, in cases like Excalibur\u2019s and Bentley\u2019s, dogs be quarantined and tested but not immediately euthanized. Kudos to the authorities in Dallas who let science rather than unfounded fear guide their decision making.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"