A tiger tests positive for coronavirus at a New York zoo | Society

Nadia, a four-year-old Malayan tigress who lives in the Bronx Zoo in New York has tested positive for coronavirus, as reported this Sunday by the federal Department of Agriculture of the United States. The female developed a dry cough, so they did a test – different from the one humans undergo – to diagnose it. “This is the first case in which a person transmits the virus to a tiger,” the department said in a statement clarifying that there is still no evidence that an animal can infect a human being with Covid-19. The iconic zoo has reported that an asymptomatic employee infected Nadia, who is in recovery.

The Bronx Zoo, one of the largest in the United States, with about 6,000 animals, closed its doors to the public on March 16 due to the pandemic. However, about 300 of the more than 700 employees were deemed “essential” to care for the animals and maintain the zoo’s operations. They continue to go to the park although they maintain the social distance recommended by health agencies to avoid possible contagion.

Nadia, his sister blue, two Amur tigers and three African lions presented a dry cough and symptoms of respiratory disease. The four-year-old tigress was the only one tested because the procedure involved general anesthesia. “Since all the tigers and lions exhibited similar respiratory symptoms, the assistant veterinarian felt that it was in the best interest of the animals to limit the potential risks of general anesthesia to a tiger for diagnosis,” the Department of Agriculture said in its statement. The zoo, for its part, reported that the cats, who are without appetite, but in recovery, were infected “by a person who cared for them and who was infected asymptomatically or before symptoms developed.”

The Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are monitoring the situation at the Bronx Zoo. “It is not known how this disease will develop in big cats, as different species may react differently to new infections, but we will continue to monitor closely,” the zoo posted.

State animal and public health officials are the ones who will determine whether animals, whether at this zoo or in other areas, should be tested for the outbreak, although they do not recommend routine testing for this virus. Both the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have said that there is no evidence that dogs or cats can transmit the coronavirus. What they do warn is that people who have been infected limit contact with their pets, since “several dogs and cats have tested positive for coronavirus after having been with infected humans.”

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