SCHAUMBURG, Ill.  — When it was announced on March 15 that just 15 states had officially deemed veterinarians as essential workers, those in the rural sector might have gone into panic mode. 

However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deemed farming as an essential business and any livestock animals (cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, horses, donkeys, mules, buffalo, oxen, llamas and others) are part of that essential business. The DHS went on to classify agricultural veterinarians as “workers who are essential to the infrastructure of farming.”

“Many bovine veterinarians across the country continue to make on-farm calls to treat livestock, given the challenges involved in trying to diagnose health issues and treat large animals remotely,” said Michael San Filippo, senior media relations specialist for the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).

So it’s perfectly legal for, say, a large animal vet to come to a farm to check up on any type of animal. There are guidelines just the same, such as remaining six feet away from other people, limit the number of people in the barn at any one time, and encouraging sick people to stay at home. Modifying barn hours to allow for disinfecting of feed buckets, stall handles, grooming supplies and more is suggested.

According to the AVMA, there have been on documented cases of Covid-19 infections in horses or livestock species, and there is no evidence to date that humans represent a risk of this infection to farm animals.

However, there are many corona viruses of veterinary importance, such as transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) and porcine respiratory coronavirus of swine, infectious bronchitis virus of poultry and equine and bovine coronavirus. While these are generally very contagious diseases within a group of animals, they are not often transmitted between species and are quite host-restricted.

“It could be very upsetting to hear your veterinarian talk about coronavirus in your herd, flock or barn at any time,” Filippo said. “Livestock coronavirus diseases represent a very low risk for human infection and disease, and are not Covid-19.”

Other infectious disease of livestock are zoonotic, or diseases that can be transmitted between humans and animals. These include salmonellosis, brucellosis, ringworm, rabies, tuberculosis, cryptosporidiosis. These infections still remain important considerations when interacting with horses and livestock, and emphasize the importance of rigorous hand hygiene after any contact with animals.

The fact sheets from the AVMA, humans are not at risk for passing Covid-19 to their horses or livestock and there is no reason to believe animals can transmit the disease to humans. However, the virus is very contagious between people, and circumstances where animals or their products bring people together can create a real risk of infection and disease during this pandemic.