China News Service, March 13th. According to the website of the Hong Kong SAR Government, a pet dog in Hong Kong had a weak positive response to the new coronavirus test. The Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department arranged a serum test. The pet dog's serum report was negative. .
The AFCD said that from late February to now, samples have been taken from the dog for testing five times, and a small amount of new coronavirus has been detected from its oral and nasal samples. The Department conducted a serum test for the dog on March 3, and the result was negative. This indicates that the dog's immune system does not have a strong immune response, and it also shows that the antibodies in its blood are not sufficient to be measured at this stage.
The department stated that a negative serum test does not indicate that the pet dog is not infected with the virus. In the past, humans were infected with other types of coronavirus. If there are no symptoms or the symptoms are mild, antibodies may not be produced in the body.
In addition, it usually takes 14 days or more for the body to produce enough antibodies to be measured, so tests for early infection may be negative, and the department will later arrange blood tests for the pet dog.
AFCD, together with the School of Public Health of the University of Hong Kong, genetically sequenced the new coronavirus in the dog and its close-confirmed person. The results showed that the virus sequencing was very similar, indicating that the virus may be caused by The confirmed person infected the dog.
The pet dog has no symptoms associated with the new coronavirus and is being quarantined at the animal shelter at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Port. AFCD will continue to monitor closely and arrange repeated tests until the result is negative before returning the pet dog to its owner.