Hey guys. The coronavirus has reached my city do I need to protect my piggies from it? If so how can I ?
There is no information about any transmission to pets; keep in mind that the issue with Covid-19 is that it is an entirely new virus that has jumped over to humans.
However, guinea pigs generally do not catch viruses from humans.
Please apply the usual good hygiene and minimalised contact practice that we recommend for other viral illnesses like colds and flu or tummy bugs.
Covid-19 is more like a strong flu; and like with a flu (which kills many more people each year), at risk are specifically the frail, the very young and the very old with a lowered or not yet fully developed immune system. The vast majority of people who catch it experience only mild symptoms.
It is obviously highly transmittable but much less deadly than the real nasties likes MERS, SARS or ebola which have a much higher death rate but do not transmit as easily.
Here are our full care tips and recommendations for infected people looking after guinea pigs; they are basic commonsense measures for whenever you are ill but also apply for people catching the new coronavirus strain: Human Colds/flu And Tummy Bug Advice