It may be the last thing you want to read about or hear about, but the fact of the matter is that Coronavirus or Covid-19 is an issue that is being monitored and dealt with. This is not about whether society is over or underreacting. This is information that livestock producers will want to know.
There has been a lot of speculation about Coronavirus and the interaction between humans and animals. So, do you need to worry about working with your hogs, cattle, or poultry? Dr. Gail Golab is the Chief Veterinary Officer for the American Veterinary Medical Association. Golab says there are four categories of the virus, each one is generally specific to the species affected.
Obviously, if humans are being affected this is a type of virus that affects mammals. Golab says this particular strain of the virus is a ?beta.?
Dr. Golab says human and animal transfer is still an ?unusual circumstance.?
Only one animal has tested positive for Covid-19, and that was a dog in Hong Kong. Dr. Golab says that it was only a ?weakly positive? test and that dog belonged to an infected person.
We are still learning and gathering information on the virus and what it can be capable of. Dr. Golab says the best thing farmers and ranchers can do is to keep up with their biosecurity plans for their livestock and practice common sense hygiene in your own home.
