Ebola-exposed dogs first test for the virus is negative Bentley will continue to be treated by veterinarians with an abundance of caution for the remainder of his quarantine, while his owner has been declared virus-free. Oct 27, 2014 By Julie Scheidegger DVM360 MAGAZINE More than a week into his 21-day quarantine, Bentley, the 1-year-old King Charles Spaniel of Ebola patient Nina Pham, has tested negative for the virus. Bentley will be tested two more times during his isolation providing the rare opportunity for veterinary and public health researchers to monitor an Ebola-exposed canine. Urine and feces samples were collected from Bentley, as well as a blood sample, to be tested with PCR to see if the dog is shedding the virus. We have much to learn from Bentley, says Eleanor Green, DVM, DACVIM, DABVP, Carl B. King Dean of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Green says the Texas Animal Health Commission contacted her early to recruit the veterinary programs Veterinary Emergency Team, which is trained in bio-containment, to oversee Bentleys veterinary care. Team leaders Wesley Bissett, DVM, PhD, and Deb Zoran, DVM, MS, PhD, are deployed to what Green described as an old military unit in Dallas where the dog is being kept to provide the same level or care and protocol used with human cases. Theyre treating him as if hes shedding virus even though were hoping he isnt, Green says. We suspect that he will not show clinical illness but we do not know that. The first negative test is a step in that direction. However, Green says one negative test will not be considered conclusive. Bentley will be tested two more times during his containment—specifically at the end of the 21-day quarantine. If negative, he will be restested. We want to double-check, Green says. After that he will most likely be cleared for release. Of course there is much more to be considered before that happens, she said last week, for instance the condition of Bentleys owner. However, as of Friday, Pham produced multiple negative tests for the virus and was released from the National Institutes of Healths Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md. That same day Pham was welcomed into the Oval Office at the White House, receiving a hug from her doctor and President Barack Obama. Bentley is scheduled for release Nov. 1 and although Pham is anxious to reunite with her dog sooner, veterinarians have asked that Bentleys monitoring not be interrupted. Since public health officials lack sufficient research to rule out dogs spreading Ebola, Green says Bentley is being handled with an abundance of caution. Bentley is the first Ebola exposed dog in the U.S. What we do we have to do thoughtfully and carefully, she says. Texas A&M, which offers the only veterinary college in the state, is working in partnership with the City of Dallas Animal Services, the Texas Animal Health Commission, the Texas Department of State Health Services, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), to oversee Bentleys veterinary care and isolation. In this case so much expertise was pooled to come up with answers for Bentley, Green says. U.S. health officials chose to handle the case differently than Spanish officials who euthanized the pet of nurses assistant Teresa Romero Ramos—the first person to contract Ebola outside of Africa. Instead, Bentley was quarantined, cared for and monitored. The information that can be learned from Bentley is vitally important to public health. This wont be the last Ebola-exposed person that owns an animal, Green says. The way Bentley is handled is also important for human medicine. We know people will put their own lives at risk in the interest of their animals, Green says. What we dont want to happen is people to become reluctant to report illness our of fear for their animals. Green says the circumstances of this outbreak underscore the importance of One Health initiatives. We cant take care of people without taking care of animals, she says. Thats the only way its going to work.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 18:54:00 +0000
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