A dog owned by a gay couple has been infected with monkeypox in the first reported case of human-to-animal transmission of the virus.
The French couple, who were involved in a non-monogamous relationship, reportedly contracted monkeypox following sexual contact with other men.
They said they noticed pustules on their Italian greyhound’s stomach and a PCR test later confirmed that the animal had contracted the virus.
The Lancet Medical Journal reported that the dog had shared a bed with the two men and had licked at least one of them before licking itself.
The pooch had already been isolated from other pets or humans from the onset of their own symptoms, the couple said.
This is the first case in which a domesticated animal has been infected with monkeypox.
“In endemic countries, only wild animals (rodents and primates) have been found to carry monkeypox virus,” the Journal reported. “However, transmission of monkeypox virus in prairie dogs has been described in the USA and in captive primates in Europe that were in contact with imported infected animals.”
The news comes in light of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring the monkeypox outbreak as a global emergency last month.
“We have an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly through new modes of transmission about which we understand too little and which meets the criteria in the international health regulations,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 72 countries since about May, with deaths only being reported in Africa so far.
95 percent of cases have been transmitted through sexual activity, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Some have speculated that monkeypox might be on the verge of becoming an entrenched sexually transmitted disease in the U.S.
“There are some genetic mutations in the virus that suggest why that may be happening, but we do need a globally-coordinated response to get it under control,” said Dr. Albert Ko, a professor of public health and epidemiology at Yale University.
