This Article is From Apr 12, 2020

Humans Can't Contract Coronavirus From Pets, Says AIIMS Director

"Though coronavirus is present in both animals and humans, there is no data to suggest that pets can spread COVID-19," AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria said.

Humans Can't Contract Coronavirus From Pets, Says AIIMS Director

Amid pandemic, reports of people abandoning their pets have been doing the rounds. (Representational)

New Delhi:

There is no data to show that humans can contract coronavirus from their pets, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria has said.

Dr Guleria told ANI, "Though coronavirus is present in both animals and humans, there is no data to suggest that pets can spread COVID-19. The spread of COVID-19 is mainly from human to human."

He further said, "Unlike the MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) -- where the virus jumped from animals and became a human virus -- the novel coronavirus is now mainly a human virus and it can spread only from human to human. Chances of its spread from pets to humans are very unlikely."

"So, having pets at home is safe," he added.

Amid the current panic situation created around the spread of novel coronavirus, reports of people abandoning their pets have been doing the rounds.

World

67,69,38,430Cases
62,55,71,965Active
4,44,81,893Recovered
68,84,572Deaths
Coronavirus has spread to 200 countries. The total confirmed cases worldwide are 67,69,38,430 and 68,84,572 have died; 62,55,71,965 are active cases and 4,44,81,893 have recovered as on January 9, 2024 at 10:54 am.

India

4,50,19,214 475Cases
3,919 -83Active
4,44,81,893 552Recovered
5,33,402 6Deaths
In India, there are 4,50,19,214 confirmed cases including 5,33,402 deaths. The number of active cases is 3,919 and 4,44,81,893 have recovered as on January 9, 2024 at 8:00 am.

State & District Details

State Cases Active Recovered Deaths

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

.