Pets owned by private individual which have been diagnosed with COVID-19 must be quarantined for a minimum of 14 days for monitoring purposes.
Senior lecturer (veterinary immunology) and researcher in pet disease at the Faculty of Veterinary Science in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Dr Farina Mustaffa Kamal, said if these pets displayed any health issues or similar symptoms to COVID-19 during this period, their owners should consult the District Veterinary Services Department for further action.
Although there was no evidence of pets spreading the COVID-19, they could themselves be infected by the disease as reported by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
“Two cases of Covid-19 infections involving pets (a cat and a dog) contracted from their owners have been reported in Belgium and Hong Kong.
“These pets were suspected to have contracted the disease through close contact with Covid-19 positive persons through kisses, hugs or general management,” she told Bernama when they contacted.
However, Dr Farina said, as of now the number of infected pets was very small and there has been no clear information of the symptoms of animals infected with Covid-19, with the majority of the animals not displaying any signs.