Pictured above, a banner hangs from a dog’s neck reading ”Excalibur: neither forget nor forgive’ as demonstrators protest against the execution of Excalibur, the euthanized pet dog of Spanish nursing assistant Teresa Romero who is infected with Ebola.
The dog belonging to the Texas health care worker who contracted Ebola will be spared, the mayor of Dallas announced Monday.
The decision by Mayor Mike Rawlings comes less than a week after officials in Spain euthanized the dog of an Ebola patient, prompting worldwide protests. More than 400,000 people signed a petition pleading for officials to spare the dog’s life.
The actual threat posed by a dog who has been in the proximity to an Ebola-infected human is somewhat unclear. A study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) examined dogs during an outbreak of Ebola in Gabon from 2001 to 2002. The authors concluded “that dogs could be infected by Ebola virus.”
Still, the study left many questions unanswered. In Gabon, “several dogs were highly exposed to Ebola virus by eating infected dead animals” and licking vomit from humans infected with Ebola. (Dogs in Gabon are generally not fed and have to scavenge for food.) The study does not consider the risks of more casual contact with between dogs and an Ebola-infected human.
None of the dogs studied in Gabon exhibited any symptoms of the virus. Nevertheless, the authors conclude “canine Ebola infection must be considered as a potential risk factor for human infection and virus spread. Human infection could occur through licking, biting or grooming.” Animal to human transmission of Ebola has been observed with pigs.
In Spain, however, Excalibur was not tested for Ebola before being put down. There is, as USA Today notes, “no documented case of Ebola spreading to people from dogs.”
In Dallas, the dog remains inside an apartment with the patient. The dog will eventually have to be relocated so that the inside of the apartment can be decontaminated.
“The dog is an important part of the family to our health care worker. We want to make sure the dog is in a safe place,” Mayor Rawlings said.