Disinfectants & YOUR PET
By Dr Rebecca Sterns We have seen a number of social media posts circulating that discuss the various disinfectants that work on COVID-19 and how it relates to our pets’ health. Some of these posts have contained misinformation that could lead pet owners to panic and limit use of products that are important in the fight against this dangerous virus. We hope to help clarify some of this information. DISINFECTANTS & HAND SANITIZERS Washing your hands with soap and water is still one of the most effective defences against infection. Washing for a minimum of 20 seconds is very important. Disinfectants and hand sanitizers will not work well if there is debris present; You need the surface of your hands clear of organic debris first, before hand sanitizers will work effectively. Likewise, when sanitizing surfaces, the surface must be clean before lysol, or other disinfectants will
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work properly. Given this fact, spraying or wiping disinfectants on your pet is not an effective strategy for any infectious diseases that may be lingering on your pet’s fur.
PETS & TRANSMISSION OF COVID-19 There is no evidence that pets transmit COVID-19 in the same manner that humans directly transmit it to each other. However, cats do appear to be susceptible to contracting the virus and uncommon human-to-cat and cat-to-cat transmission has been documented. It is still uncertain whether cats can develop symptoms from the illness but it is suspected to be unlikely. Therefore we must consider that there is a possibility of pet-tohuman transmission. There is also the possibility that the virus could survive for a period of time on an animal’s fur. Studies have not been done to determine the actual risk level of this, so at this time we are advising you to limit your pet’s contact with others outside of your household. If you are infected with COVID-19, wash your hands well and limit close contact with your pet if possible. That being said, human-to-human is still the overwhelmingly dominant transmission risk.
