Tiger at New York Zoo tested positive for Covid-19 – Observer

A Malayan tiger that lives in the Bronx Zoo in New York, tested positive for the new coronavirus, revealed a spokesman for that zoo to the Reuters agency.

Nadia, a four-year-old female, is the first tiger in the world to be diagnosed with Covid-19 and the first animal in the United States of America to test positive for the virus. “She, her Blue sister, two Siberian tigers and three African lions developed a dry cough and we hope everyone will recover“, Later confirmed the Wildilife Conservation Society (WCS), which manages the zoo, in a communication. Only the test done to Nadia was positive.

“We tested the cat as a precaution and we will ensure that all the knowledge we obtain about Covid-19 contributes to the continued understanding of this new coronavirus worldwide”, reads the statement. Zoo officials noted a “appetite reduction”In cats, but the animals are recovering“ under veterinary care ”.

“It is not known how this disease develops in large cats, as different species may react differently to new infections, but we will continue to monitor them closely and anticipate full recovery,” continues the statement.

According to WCS, the tiger was infected by a zoo worker at a time when he was still asymptomatic. “Preventive measures have been taken for the entire staff who takes care of them and the other cats in the four WCS zoos, to avoid exposure to any of our other cats“, Adds the institution.

The way in which the coronavirus is transmitted between humans and animals is a subject still to be studied by the scientific community. This virus is known to have originated in wild animals and, at a certain moment, it passed to a human being, from which transmission between people began. It is also known that domestic animals can be infected by humans – although it has not yet been proven that pets, such as cats or dogs, can transmit the disease to their owners.

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