Monkeys, bats and a menagerie of animals can spread
Ebola. Now there's worry that dogs - or one dog in
particular - might spread it, too. Officials in Madrid
got a court order to euthanize the pet of a Spanish
nursing assistant who has the deadly virus.
No case of Ebola spreading to people from dogs has ever
been documented, but "clearly we want to look at all
possibilities," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Questions and answers about the situation:
Q: Can dogs get Ebola?
A: At least one major study suggests they can, without
showing symptoms. Researchers tested dogs during the
2001-02 Ebola outbreak in Gabon after seeing some of
them eating infected dead animals. Of the 337 dogs from
various towns and villages, 9 to 25 percent showed
antibodies to Ebola, a sign they were infected or
exposed to the virus.
Q: What's the risk to people?
A: No one really knows. Lab experiments on other animals
suggest their urine, saliva or stool might contain the
virus. That means that in theory, people might catch it
through an infected dog licking or biting them, or from
grooming.
Q: Why is this dog suspect?
A: The nursing assistant and her husband have been in
isolation since she tested positive for Ebola this week.
She helped care for a missionary priest who died of
Ebola. The Madrid regional government got a court order
to euthanize their dog, saying "available scientific
information" can't rule out "a risk of contagion."
Q: Does everyone agree that's best?
A: No. The dog's owners don't want it killed, and an
animal rights group wants it quarantined instead,
although it's not clear how effective that would be
since infected dogs don't show symptoms, and it's not
known how long the virus can last in them.
Dr. Peter Cowen, a veterinarian at North Carolina State University who has advised global health experts on animal infection disease risks, thinks officials are overreacting. "I think it's very unfortunate they are thinking of euthanizing that dog. They should really study it instead," he said.
Q: What about other dogs?
A: The risk that dogs might spread Ebola is very small
in the U.S. or other places where dogs aren't near
corpses or eating infected animals, said Sharon Curtis
Granskog, a spokeswoman for the American Veterinary
Medical Association.
In Dallas, health officials are monitoring 48 people who may have had contact with Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, but "we are not monitoring any animals at this time," said Texas Health Commissioner David Lakey.