Hong Kong Researchers Find Animals That Are the Cause of Corona Transmission

Hong Kong researchers found evidence that pet hamsters can spread COVID-19 to humans. The animal is also considered to be the cause of the transmission of COVID-19 in Hong Kong.

In the study, published Saturday (29/1/2022) in The Lancet as a preprint and yet to be peer-reviewed, provides the first documented evidence of transmission of the Delta variant from hamsters to humans.

Quoted from the Strait Times page, researchers from the University of Hong Kong and the city government found two cases of transmission from hamsters to humans, after testing viral swabs and blood samples from hamsters collected from a local pet shop.

The hamsters were infected around November 21, before they were imported into Hong Kong, suggesting the pet trade may be the pathway by which COVID-19 spreads across borders, according to the study.

“This study reveals that pet hamsters can contract Sars-CoV-2 infection in real life and can transmit the virus back to humans,” the researchers said in the study.

Respiratory disease expert Dr Leung Chi-chiu said the findings highlight the need for importers and authorities to review how hamsters are imported and stored in warehouses.

“There is a possibility that the hamster was infected before being sent on a flight or while in transit and the corona virus then spreads in the warehouse environment and then spreads to humans,” he said.

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(kna / kna)

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