OPINION | This article contains commentary that reflects the author's opinion.
Two male partners, one aged 44 and the other 27, transmitted the monkeypox virus to their dog, causing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to update its guidance related to animals.
Sadly, the dog has tested positive.
The gay couple explained to a local news outlet in France that they were also sleeping with other partners.
They noticed symptoms of the virus in a matter of days after sleeping with other partners. The virus was subsequently passed on to their Italian greyhound 12 days after they showed symptoms.
“The men had presented with anal ulceration 6 days after sex with other partners,” the French paper said. “In patient 1, anal ulceration was followed by a vesiculopustular rash on the face, ears, and legs; in patient 2, on the legs and back. In both cases, rash was associated with asthenia, headaches, and fever 4 days later.”
🚨 POLL: Is Monkeypox a major health crisis?
YES 👍 or NO 👎
The CDC updated its guidance to explain dogs can catch the virus, CBS News reported.
“People with monkeypox should avoid contact with animals, including pets, domestic animals, and wildlife to prevent spreading the virus,” the CDC says.
“If your pet is exposed to monkey pox: Do not surrender, euthanize, or abandon pets just because of a potential exposure or Monkeypox virus,” the agency said, adding, “Do not wipe or bathe your pet with chemical disinfectants, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or other products, such as hand sanitizer, counter-cleaning wipes, or other industrial or surface cleaners.”
“Twelve days after symptom onset, their male Italian greyhound, aged 4 years and with no previous medical disorders, presented with mucocutaneous lesions, including abdomen pustules and a thin anal ulceration,” The Lancet reported. “The dog tested positive for monkeypox virus by use of a PCR protocol adapted from Li and colleagues that involved scraping skin lesions and swabbing the anus and oral cavity.”
“The men reported co-sleeping with their dog. They had been careful to prevent their dog from contact with other pets or humans from the onset of their own symptoms,” the paper added.
More from Daily Wire:
The paper’s authors concluded, “To the best of our knowledge, the kinetics of symptom onset in both patients and, subsequently, in their dog suggest human-to-dog transmission of monkeypox virus.”
“Given the dog’s skin and mucosal lesions as well as the positive monkeypox virus PCR results from anal and oral swabs, we hypothesise a real canine disease, not a simple carriage of the virus by close contact with humans or airborne transmission (or both),” the authors continued. “Our findings should prompt debate on the need to isolate pets from monkeypox virus-positive individuals. We call for further investigation on secondary transmissions via pets.”
The monkeypox virus has hit the LGBTQ community hardest across continents, spreading via close contact, including rashes and bodily fluids, according to the CDC.
