Four more tigers and three lions test positive for COVID-19 at Bronx Zoo - three weeks after the first big cat was infected by a keeper
- Bronx Zoo says total of eight big cats have tested positive for coronavirus
- On April 5, Nadia, a 4-year-old Malayan tiger, tested positive for COVID-19
- On Wednesday, zoo officials said four more tigers and three lions fell ill
- Veterinary staff confirmed infections through laboratory tests of fecal matter
- Zoo officials said animals were infected by asymptomatic staff member
- Nadia was diagnosed after being placed under anesthesia, veterinary staff said
- But the other animals did not need to be sedated after showing symptoms
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Four more tigers and three lions at the Bronx Zoo in New York City have tested positive for the coronavirus – bringing the total to eight big cats that have come down with COVID-19.
Earlier this month, the zoo announced that Nadia, a four-year-old Malayan tiger, was confirmed to be infected with coronavirus after she and at least six other cats began to exhibit symptoms.
Nadia’s diagnosis was ‘the first time, to our knowledge, that a [wild] animal has gotten sick from COVID-19 from a person,’ Paul Calle, the chief veterinarian of the Bronx Zoo, told National Geographic.
Veterinary staff at the zoo collected samples from Nadia’s nose, throat, and respiratory tract while she was under anesthesia.
The other animals who developed a cough – three other tigers from the Tiger Mountain section of the zoo and three African lions – were not placed under anesthesia.
A total of eight big cats - five tigers and three lions - have tested positive for the coronavirus at Bronx Zoo in New York City
Nadia, a four-year-old female Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo, tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on April 5
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Instead, veterinary staff examined their fecal samples, which were processed by a lab.
Lab tests confirmed that the animals were infected with the coronavirus.
One other tiger at Tiger Mountain who did not develop a cough also tested positive, according to the zoo.
The zoo said that all eight cats ‘continue to do well’ and are ‘behaving normally, eating well, and their coughing is greatly reduced.’
Zoo officials said they believe the animals were infected by an asymptomatic staff member who unwittingly passed the virus on to them.
The zoo conducted its analyses of the animals in conjunction with the New York State Diagnostic Laboratory at Cornell University and the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab at the University of Illinois’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
‘We tested the tigers and lions out of an abundance of caution and will ensure any knowledge we gain about COVID-19 will contribute to the world's continuing understanding of this novel coronavirus,’ said the zoo officials.
‘The testing of these cats was done in veterinary laboratories and resources used did not take from those being used for human testing,’ they added.
Zoo officials said that none of its snow leopards, cheetahs, clouded leopards, Amur leopards, or pumas were showing any signs of illness.
The zoo has put in place ‘preventive measures’ for all staff members caring for animals.
There is no evidence to suggest that animals can pass the virus on to people, according to the USDA, which has said there are no known cases among pets or livestock in the US.
The Bronx Zoo has been temporarily closed since March 16.
New York, the city of more than 8 million people, is an epicenter of the pandemic.
More than 257,000 people statewide have already tested positive for COVID-19 — a figure that likely undercounts infected residents by a substantial amount.
In the city, there have been a confirmed 142,432 cases of COVID-19. Nearly 11,000 city residents have died.
Two cats in New York State are first US pets to test positive for virus
Two pet cats (not pictured) have tested positive for coronavirus. Pictured, home veterinarian Wendy Jane McCulloch examines 8-year-old Ivy at the closed Botanica Inc. office in New York on March 31
Two pet cats in New York state have tested positive for the coronavirus, marking the first confirmed cases in companion animals in the United States, federal officials said Wednesday.
The cats, which had mild respiratory illnesses and are expected to recover, are thought to have contracted the virus from people in their households or neighborhoods, the US Department of Agriculture and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The finding, which comes after positive tests in some tigers and lions at the Bronx Zoo, adds to a small number of confirmed cases of the virus in animals worldwide.
US authorities, including the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, say that while it appears some animals can get the virus from people, there’s no indication pets are transmitting it to human beings.
'Now, obviously, is that impossible? I mean, biologically, no, anything is possible,' Fauci said.
'But there’s no evidence whatsoever that we've seen from an epidemiological standpoint that pets can be transmitters within a household.'
Dr. Casey Barton Behravesh, a CDC official who works on human-animal health connections, stressed that there’s no need for pet owners to panic, or rush to test their animals.
'We don't want people to be afraid of pets,' Barton Behravesh said.
'There's no evidence that pets are playing a role in spreading this disease to people.'
Still, the CDC is recommending that people prevent their pets from interacting with people or animals outside their homes - by keeping cats indoors and dogs out of dog parks, for instance.
Coronavirus testing for pets isn’t recommended unless an animal has been exposed to a person with COVID-19 and the animal has symptoms of the disease - and tests have ruled out more common possible causes, said Dr. Jane Rooney of the USDA.
Veterinarians who think testing is warranted are supposed to contact state officials to decide.
Barton Behravesh said the animal tests are done at veterinary labs and use different chemicals than human tests, which have been in short supply during the crisis.
The American Veterinary Medical Association says pets can stay in homes where a person has COVID-19, so long as the animal can be cared for.
'In this emergency, pets and people each need the support of the other,' the group said in a statement Wednesday.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as a fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.
For some, especially older adults and people, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and can be fatal.
Scientists studying the virus have been looking closely at links between human and animals.
While a consensus is still evolving, the leading theory is that infection among humans began at an animal market in China, probably from an animal that got the virus from a bat.
Scientists are working to understand the potential for transmission to animals in homes, farms and elsewhere.
So far, it doesn’t appear that livestock or poultry are susceptible, Rooney said.
The two cats live in different parts of the state; the USDA and CDC wouldn’t say where specifically.
The first cat fell ill about a week after a person in its household had a short respiratory illness, though the person’s ailment wasn’t confirmed to be COVID-19, Barton Behravesh said.
The animal goes outdoors at times and might have come into contact with an infected person in the area, she said.
The CDC is recommending that people prevent their pets from interacting with people or animals outside their homes. Pictured are dog walkers in Central Park on April 7
The second cat’s owner tested positive for COVID-19 before the cat became sick, officials said.
Another cat in the same home hasn’t shown any signs of illness.
The cats' symptoms included coughing and slightly runny noses, officials said.
The agencies have recommended that any pet owners with COVID-19 avoid petting, snuggling or other contact with their animals as much as possible, including wearing a face covering while caring for them.
There have been a handful of reports outside the US of pet dogs or cats 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.
