Tiger at NYC zoo tests +ve, other big cats appear ill too

New York:07.04.2020

A tiger at the Bronx Zoo has tested positive for the coronavirus, in what is believed to be the first known infection in an animal in the US or a tiger anywhere.

The 4-year-old Malayan tiger named Nadia — and six other tigers and lions that have also fallen ill — are believed to have been infected by a zoo employee who wasn’t yet showing symptoms, the zoo said. Nadia started showing symptoms on March 27, and all are doing well and expected to recover, said the zoo, which has been closed to the public since March 16 amid the surging coronavirus outbreak in New York. The test result stunned zoo officials: “I couldn’t believe it,” director Jim Breheny said.

The finding raises new questions about transmission of the virus in animals. The US department of agriculture, which confirmed Nadia’s test result at its veterinary lab, said there are no known cases of the virus in US pets or livestock. But it suggested that those infected should, “out of an abundance of caution,” avoid contact with their pets and other animals.

There have been a handful of reports outside the US of pet dogs or cats becoming infected after close contact with contagious people, including a Hong Kong dog that tested positive for a low level of the pathogen in February and early March. Hong Kong authorities concluded that pet dogs and cats couldn’t pass the virus to human beings but could test positive if exposed by their owners. AGENCIES