A tiger at Bronx Zoo in New York City has tested positive for coronavirus. Zoo's chief veterinarian said that it is the first known case of a human infecting an animal and making it sick. The 4-year-old Malayan tiger, Nadia, that tested positive, was screened for the pandemic after developing a dry cough, the Wildlife Conservation Society said in a statement.
The novel coronavirus is believed to have spread from animals to humans. Earlier, a dog who tested positive for coronavirus died in Hong Kong due to the pandemic. However, the officials believe that this is a unique case because Nadia became sick after exposure to an asymptomatic Zoo employee, Paul Calle, chief veterinarian at Bronx Zoo, told Reuters.
Calle added that they do not have any information regarding the employee who infected the tiger. Adding, he said that this is for the first time that in the world that a person infected the animal and the animal got sick.
Paul also said that while the other tigers and lions were also exhibiting symptoms, the Zoo decided to test Nadia only because she was the sickest and they did not want to subject all the cats to anesthesia.
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According to the US Department of Agriculture National Veterinary Services Laboratories, which conducted the test, the first tiger at Zoom, which has been shut since mid-March, started showing illness on March 27.
-PTC News