According to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, people can get infected by the bug norovirus by their dogs.
Business Standard reported that norovirus is the leading cause of food-borne illness in the United States. It leads to diarrhea and vomiting and is very contagious.
The study demonstrated that some dogs can mount an immune response against the virus. Sarah Caddy, the author of the study, said that this indicates that these dogs have been infected with norovirus. The author further said that they confirmed that the virus can bind to the cells of the canine stomach, which is the initial step needed for infection of cells.
In the study, scientists analyzed non-infectious human norovirus particles that consist of virus' outer protein called the capsid. The protein capsid is the part of the virus that binds to cells of the host. It is not infectious because it does not contain genetic material.
However, scientists are not sure how much of a problem canine infection may represent for people. They failed to find norovirus in stool samples of canines, even in dogs that suffered diarrhea.
Furthermore, it is still unclear whether the bug norovirus can lead to clinical disease in dogs or not. Also, scientists are not sure whether dogs who are infected with the virus could shed the bug in quantities that are enough to infect people. Morever, it is not known if dogs play a part in the epidemiology of some outbreaks of the norovirus.
Caddy said that until more accurate information is available, hygiene precautions should be taken around dogs, particularly when gastroenteritis in dogs or humans is present in a household."
According to statistics, about 19 to 21 million Americans are infected with the norovirus each year. Most of the infections have resulted in 800 deaths and 71,000 hospitalizations. Norovirus is particularly dangerous to older people and children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.