With the cold/flu and tummy bug/norovirus season upon us please use your common sense!
When you are ill with an infectious disease, always practise good hygiene, i.e. thorough hand washing before and after interacting with your guinea pigs.
Keep any handling and grooming to the absolutely necessary minimum and do not cuddle until you are over the acute phase.
If possible ask a healthy household member to feed, groom, clean and medicate your guinea pigs until you are past the highly infectious acute stage and back on your feet again without being in danger of falling or fainting.
If you are on your own and very sick, please just feed, water and medicate your guinea pigs but refrain from poo patrol, cleaning and grooming while you are ill. Your guinea pigs will survive a little temporary neglect for a few days without problem.
It is more important that you get back on your legs and get well quickly! If you fall over and hurt yourself or faint and wind up in hospital, you won't do your piggies any favour, either...
It is extremely rare that things jump over from humans to guinea pigs, especially as many viruses are species specific.
This also goes for Covid-19, the new coronavirus on the block. Just because it has jumped one species barrier doesn't mean that it will jump all others automatically, too!
As per information from the World Health Organisation, your pets are safe from catching it from you (the risk for small rodents is classed as low but not zero) but good hygiene like frequent hand washing before and after contact and commonsense measures (like the ones mentioned at the top) still apply.
In most cases, Covid in pets has been virus particles from infected owners but there has been a case of a Covid infection outbreak in hamsters in a petshop in Singapore in January 2022, which has led to a city state wide cull of hamsters. The species jump likely happened because of lack of basic hygiene and precautions.
Important to know:
Salmonella and streptococcus (strep throat), e.coli as well as pneumococcus can be transmitted between humans and guinea pigs.
If possible stay well away from your piggies and move them temporarily to another room.
When you are ill with an infectious disease, always practise good hygiene, i.e. thorough hand washing before and after interacting with your guinea pigs.
Keep any handling and grooming to the absolutely necessary minimum and do not cuddle until you are over the acute phase.
If possible ask a healthy household member to feed, groom, clean and medicate your guinea pigs until you are past the highly infectious acute stage and back on your feet again without being in danger of falling or fainting.
If you are on your own and very sick, please just feed, water and medicate your guinea pigs but refrain from poo patrol, cleaning and grooming while you are ill. Your guinea pigs will survive a little temporary neglect for a few days without problem.
It is more important that you get back on your legs and get well quickly! If you fall over and hurt yourself or faint and wind up in hospital, you won't do your piggies any favour, either...
It is extremely rare that things jump over from humans to guinea pigs, especially as many viruses are species specific.
This also goes for Covid-19, the new coronavirus on the block. Just because it has jumped one species barrier doesn't mean that it will jump all others automatically, too!
As per information from the World Health Organisation, your pets are safe from catching it from you (the risk for small rodents is classed as low but not zero) but good hygiene like frequent hand washing before and after contact and commonsense measures (like the ones mentioned at the top) still apply.
In most cases, Covid in pets has been virus particles from infected owners but there has been a case of a Covid infection outbreak in hamsters in a petshop in Singapore in January 2022, which has led to a city state wide cull of hamsters. The species jump likely happened because of lack of basic hygiene and precautions.
Important to know:
Salmonella and streptococcus (strep throat), e.coli as well as pneumococcus can be transmitted between humans and guinea pigs.
If possible stay well away from your piggies and move them temporarily to another room.