HYDERABAD: Director of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry department V Lakshma Reddy on Wednesday clarified that pet dogs and cats cannot transmit Coronavirus to humans. 

In a press release, he said there was no need for pet owners to panic because there was no evidence of animal to human transmission of Covid-19. “Dogs and cats do get Coronavirus, but it is not the same strain which is responsible for the current outbreak.

There is no risk of Coronavirus from dogs or cats,” he said. There are about two lakh pets in GHMC areas and some owners were scared that they can contract the virus from them. This was forcing them to abandon their pets, Reddy said. He advised owners to wash their hands before feeding their pets and avoid direct contact with them.