Pet News

A ‘heartbroken’ Vietnamese couple whose animal companions were killed by government authorities over COVID-19 fears have adopted new dogs, thanks to public support. Pham Minh Hung and his wife, Nguyen Thi Chi Em, gained attention on the social media platform Tik Tok last year after clips of the couple on a scooter with their dogs and their belongings piled on went viral.  The couple was making the 300-km long road trip south from their home near Ho Chi Minh City to Ms. Nguyen’s hometown in the province of Ca Mau. Vietnamese audiences found the heartwarming story a comfort during the COVID-19 pandemic. But just hours after reaching their destination, Mr. Pham and his wife tested positive for Covid and were quarantined in hospital. It was here that they learned the news that 15 of their dogs and their cat were dead, killed by Vietnamese authorities over fears the animals could spread the virus.  Authorities cited the killing as a “preventative” measure, but the story ignited out...

Health officials have reported the world’s first known human case of H3N8 avian flu in China. A four-year-old boy in the Henan province has been infected with the avian influenza strain after being in contact with chickens and crows near his home, according to China’s National Health Commission. Commonly known as bird flu, avian influenza is a highly contagious and deadly virus that infects chickens, ducks, turkeys, and wild birds, and spreads through their saliva, mucus, and feces. Some strains of bird flu, such as H5N1, H7N9, H5N6 and now H5N8, have infected humans, but this is very rare, with fewer than 500 bird flu deaths reported to the World Health Organization since 1997.  “We often see a virus spread to a human and then not spread any further so a single case is not a cause of great concern,” Sir Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases and global health, University of Oxford, told The Guardian. “There is no reason to think it will go any further,” said Prof P...