Hamsters Sparked a COVID Outbreak in Hong Kong

[L. Coyote]

Pet hamsters probably carried the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 into Hong Kong and sparked a human COVID-19 outbreak, according to a genomic analysis of viral samples from the rodents. The research confirms earlier fears that a pet shop was the source of the outbreak, which has so far infected about 50 people and led to the culling of some 2,000 hamsters across the city.

Hamsters are highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and so are a popular model for studying the virus. But the Hong Kong study — posted online as a preprint1 and yet to be peer reviewed — is the first to show that hamsters can become infected outside the laboratory, and that they can pass the virus on to both other hamsters and humans.

Hamsters are only the second animal known to be able to infect people, after mink. In late 2020, small outbreaks of COVID-19 in people in Denmark and the Netherlands were linked to farmed mink, sparking panic and mass culls.

The latest study points to the pet trade as a route for viral spread ............ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-sneezing-hamsters-sparked-a-covid-outbreak-in-hong-kong/

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[nolabear]

1. ...

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Nooooo! This is how we'll lose the dogs and cats!

And then, the apes and gorillas will take over after the MAGAs' poor judgement kills off the most intelligent from the planet.