Tiger at Bronx Zoo tests positive, other lions & tigers have symptoms--infected by zoo worker

[Mrs. Overall]

Link to tweet

Natasha Daly
@natashaldaly

BREAKING: A tiger at the Bronx Zoo has tested positive for Covid-19. 6 other tigers and lions at the zoo are also showing symptoms. Believed to have been infected by an asymptomatic zoo worker. All doing well. To my knowledge, this is the first animal to test positive in the U.S.

[intrepidity]

1. Holy shit, this is bad if true nt

[Afromania]

2. As if we didn't have enough problems. Also, when did they get Tiger tests????

[defacto7]

3. Who is Natasha Daly?

[Mrs. Overall]

4. The editor of National Geographic.

[defacto7]

5. Whoa!

[octoberlib]

6. It's in WaPo too.

NEW YORK — A tiger at the Bronx Zoo has tested positive for the new coronavirus, in what is believed to be the first known infection in an animal in the U.S. or a tiger anywhere, federal officials and the zoo said Sunday.

The 4-year-old Malayan tiger, and six other tigers and lions that have also fallen ill, are believed to have been infected by a zoo employee, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. The first animal started showing symptoms March 27, and all are expected to recover, said the zoo, which has been closed to the public since March 16.

“It’s important to assure pet owners and animal owners that at this time there isn’t any evidence that they can spread the virus,” said Dr. Jane Rooney, a veterinarian and a USDA official.



There have been reports of a small number of pets outside the United States 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 agriculture authorities concluded that pet dogs and cats couldn’t pass the virus to human beings but could test positive if exposed by their owners.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/tiger-at-nycs-bronx-zoo-tests-positive-for-coronavirus/2020/04/05/9aed17f0-777f-11ea-a311-adb1344719a9_story.html

[tblue37]

7. That's it! I am not getting within 6 feet of a tiger or lion now. nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. All of the cats have dry coughs but are doing well.

I suppose the first tiger was tested because she was coughing. They are being kept separate from the other cats and there's no evidence suggesting they can transmit it to humans. https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2020/04/05/tiger-at-bronx-zoo-tests-positive-for-covid-19-after-developing-dry-cough/

[DBoon]

9. Does this mean domestic cats can get infected too?

[Mrs. Overall]

10. According to a recent article in Scientific American--yes, domestic cats can get coronavirus

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cats-can-get-coronavirus-study-suggests-but-pet-owners-need-not-panic/

Cats can be infected with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and spread it to other cats, but dogs are not really susceptible to the infection, according to researchers in China. The team, at Harbin Veterinary Research Institute in China, also concludes that chickens, pigs, and ducks are not likely to catch the virus.

Scientists say the findings are interesting, but that cat-owners should not be alarmed just yet. The results are based on lab experiments in which a small number of animals were deliberately infected with high doses of the virus, SARS-CoV-2, and do not represent real-life interactions between people and their pets, says virologist Linda Saif at The Ohio State University in Columbus. There is no direct evidence that the infected cats secreted enough coronavirus to infect people, she says.

With the coronavirus spreading rapidly around the world, some have raised concerns about whether the virus can pass between pets and people. So far, there have been a few reports of pets being infected: a cat in Belgium and two dogs in Hong Kong. “Cats and dogs are in close contact with humans, and therefore it is important to understand their susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 for COVID-19 control,” write the authors of the latest study, a preprint posted on bioRxiv on 31 March.

[Sugarcoated]

11. The Brit living in China who journaled his illness,

his story was shared here numerous times. In his month long battle with the virus he said his kitten mysteriously died..anecdotal but I took note of it.

[Mrs. Overall]

12. That's interesting.

[WePurrsevere]

13. A couple more good sources on the big cats and house cats catching this from humans...

Here's the link to the USDA.gov page on this news...
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/newsroom/news/sa_by_date/sa-2020/ny-zoo-covid-19

This is a veterinarian site so geared towards them but it has some excellent info...
https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/animal-health-and-welfare/covid-19