Pet owners who have Covid are being warned that they should avoid their pets while infected.

Scientists in the Netherlands have found that coronavirus can be transmitted to pet cats and dogs when an owner is infected.

While cases of owners passing on Covid to their pets are considered to be of negligible risk to public health, the scientists say that there is a 'potential risk' that domestic animals could act as a 'reservoir' for coronavirus and reintroduce it to humans.

Dr Els Broens, from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, said: “If you have Covid-19, you should avoid contact with your cat or dog, just as you would do with other people.

Read also: Warburtons creates 150 new jobs for Banbury with new depot

“The main concern is not the animals’ health – they had no or mild symptoms of Covid-19 – but the potential risk that pets could act as a reservoir of the virus and reintroduce it into the human population.

“Fortunately, to date no pet-to-human transmission has been reported.

“So, despite the rather high prevalence among pets from Covid-19 positive households in this study, it seems unlikely that pets play a role in the pandemic.”

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention website explains that although we do not yet know all the animals that can be infected with Covid-19 it has been proven some mammals can be infected.

Companion animals such as cats and dogs, big cats in zoos or sanctuaries, gorillas in zoos, mink on farms, and a few other mammals such as ferrets and alpacas can be infected with Covid. 

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For news updates straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on news@nqo.com or 01865 425 445.