It’s possible for strains of a virus to mutate from animals and infect humans. The bird-flu is an example. But is it possible for humans to pass a virus to animals? Researchers in Oregon and Iowa believe it can happen.
The theory
Researchers believe humans might be able to pass the common flu virus to their pet.
“We worry a lot about zoonoses, the transmission of diseases from animals to people,” said Christiane Loehr, an associate professor in the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine.
“It’s reasonable to assume there are many more cases of this than we know about, and we want to learn more,” Loehr said. “Any time you have infection of a virus into a new species, it’s a concern, a black box of uncertainty. We don’t know for sure what the implications might be, but we do think this deserves more attention.”
Cases of H1N1 passed to Fido
Researchers believe the first fatal human-to-pet transmission of H1N1 happened in 2009. Since then, scientists identified 13 other cases where a dog or cat contracted the virus from a human between 2011 and 2012.
“All viruses can mutate, but the influenza virus raises special concern because it can change whole segments of its viral sequence fairly easily,” Loehr said.
“In terms of hosts and mutations, who’s to say that the cat couldn’t be the new pig? We’d just like to know more about this.”
More work to be done
Researchers advise pet owners to keep their distance from their pet when they are sick, just as they would stay away from other family members for fear of getting them sick. It’s estimated 80 million American homes have a pet.
More research is needed to understand how transmission happens and how it can be prevented in the future.
