The New Paper

The New Paper - 13 Apr 2003

Can pets get Sars?

By Anne Seah

NO, they can't, from what we know so far. Animals are unlikely to be susceptible to severe acute respiratory syndrome, and are even less likely to spread it, according to the two vets The New Paper spoke to.

Both said human diseases are very different from animal diseases.

Dr Subramaniam Thiruchelvam said: 'Even though dogs and cats cough, sneeze and catch pneumonia, most of these illnesses don't share the same viruses as those that infect humans.'

Dr Jean-Paul Ly admitted that certain strains of influenza can pass from humans to dogs, but insisted that worries of cross-species infection are unfounded, most of the time.

'Zoonotic diseases - which are spread from animals to humans - are not common. Diseases which are spread from humans to animals are even more rare,' he said.

But what about earlier speculation that the virus causing Sars might have originated from animals?

For Dr Ly, at least, such speculation is to be taken with a pinch of salt.

'This is conjecture,' he pointed out.

'Right now, we are at a very early stage - too early to make any definitive comments about Sars at all.'

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) agrees.

Said SPCA's executive officer Deirdre Moss: 'We are not too concerned. Right now, only humans are getting Sars. So there's no cause for alarm.

'That doesn't mean we are not taking the usual precautions advised by the media.'

But while vets and the SPCA are handling the Sars situation with confidence, some animal lovers out there are starting to worry.

At least one of them has sent an e-mail to the SPCA, hoping to find out what the Sars outbreak means for animals. Said Ms Moss: 'We received an e-mail asking whether dogs can catch Sars.'

Ms Moss has since replied, informing the person that the Sars virus is unlikely to be spread to animals.

And indeed, both Dr Thiruchelvam and Dr Ly confirmed that they have not come across any cases of Sars among the animals they have been treating.

Said Dr Thiruchelvam: 'I have been on the lookout for Sars in the animals, especially those that have flu or pneumonia. But so far, there have been no cases of Sars-like infection.'

Same for Dr Ly.

'There were none even remotely resembling Sars,' he said.

Said Mr Goh Shih Yong, corporate communications manager of the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA): 'Every day, scientists at the World Health Organisation are learning, discovering and finding out more about the virus causing Sars. AVA is waiting to hear more.'