US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — The first case of tiger infection with COVID-19 was recorded in New York.
In the Bronx Zoo, which was closed to visitors on March 16, the virus was discovered in a four-year-old Malay tigress named Nadia.
This was reported by the Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which confirmed the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the animal.
The National Laboratory of Veterinary Services took tests from a lioness after several lions and tigers in the zoo had symptoms of a respiratory illness. The test for COVID-19 was done only for one tiger, since the collection of tests required general anesthesia.
Zoo staff said that the tigress Nadia, her sister Azul, two Amur tigers and three African lions “had a dry cough.” Currently, all animals are under the supervision of veterinarians.
It is assumed that the tigress could become infected from a sick zoo employee.
Experts emphasize: there is still no evidence that any animals can transmit the COVID-19 coronavirus to humans.
Earlier it became known that in Belgium the first case of transmission of coronavirus from person to animal was recorded . Veterinarians found that in Liège a cat was infected from the owner.
In Hong Kong, the first proven case of human-to-animal transmission of COVID-19 has also been identified. The infection was found in a domestic dog whose owner was in the hospital.
Meanwhile, Chinese veterinarians found that 15 percent of the hundred street and domestic cats they tested were infected with COVID-19.
Experts said that in the body of more than ten cats living in Wuhan, antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 were detected. It turned out that the virus can be transmitted from one animal to another by airborne droplets.
Experts emphasize that cases of transmission of coronavirus from cat to man have not yet been recorded, however, this probability is not excluded.
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