Diagnostics firm reports no COVID-19 cases in pets
The results align with current understanding that COVID-19 is primarily spread from human-to-human.
Veterinary diagnostics company IDEXX Laboratories has announced that it has seen no positive results in pets to date of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus strain responsible for the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The firm tested thousands of samples from cats and dogs during validation of a new veterinary test for the COVID-19 virus. The samples used for testing and validation were obtained from samples submitted to the IDEXX Laboratories for PCR testing.
Researchers say that their results align with current understanding that COVID-19 is primarily spread from human-to-human, and support the recommendation against testing pets for the COVID-19 virus.
Jay Mazelsky, president and chief executive officer of IDEXX Laboratories, said: “Should leading health authorities determine it is clinically relevant to test pets for the COVID-19 virus, IDEXX will be ready to make the IDEXX SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) RealPCR™ Test available.
“Pets are important members of our family, and we want to keep them healthy and safe. We will continue to monitor COVID-19 and pet health across our global IDEXX Reference Laboratories network as this situation evolves.”
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