IDEXX confirms no positive COVID-19 test results

IDEXX Laboratories has announced it has seen no positive results in pets to date of the coronavirus strain responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) respiratory outbreak in humans.

The company has evaluated thousands of canine and feline specimens during validation of a new veterinary test system for the COVID-19 virus.

Results aligned

The specimens used for test development and validation were obtained from specimens submitted to IDEXX Reference Laboratories for PCR testing.

These new test results align with the current expert understanding that COVID-19 is primarily transmitted person to person and supports the recommendation against testing pets for the COVID-19 virus.

Test available

For dogs or cats presenting with respiratory signs, the recommendation is to contact a veterinary surgeon to test for more common respiratory pathogens.

IDEXX president and chief executive Jay Mazelsky said: “Should leading health authorities determine it is clinically relevant to test pets for the COVID-19 virus, IDEXX will be ready to make the IDEXX SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) real PCR test available.

“Pets are important members of our family, and we want to keep them healthy and safe. We will continue to monitor COVID-19 and pet health across our global IDEXX Reference Laboratories network as this situation evolves.”