A tigress infected with a coronavirus at the Bronx Zoo: this is the first case of human-to-animal transmission

The tigress became infected with a coronavirus from a zoo ranger. This is the first known case when COVID-19 was transmitted from person to animal. This publication writes Business Insider.

Nadia is a four-year-old female tiger living at the Bronx Zoo, New York. She was decided to be tested for coronavirus after contact with a caretaker infected with COVID-19. The zoo worker was reported to be asymptomatic.

The diagnosis was confirmed by the US Department of Agriculture National Veterinary Laboratory based in Ames, Iowa.

The Wildlife Conservation Society said that Nadia, three other tigers, and three African lions developed a dry cough and decreased appetite, but they are expected to recover. None of the other large cats, including tigers in another part of the zoo, showed symptoms of coronavirus.

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Experts do not yet know how the virus develops and whether it infects large cats. Just in case, the zoo took preventive measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The US Department of Agriculture claims there is currently no evidence that animals can spread the coronavirus to humans. However, the CDC recommends that people with coronavirus avoid contact with animals.

The zoo also expressed hope that the information received regarding the disease of the tigress will help to better understand the nature of the virus that many countries have encountered and which has infected more than a million people.

Recall that as of April 5 in New York 4200 people died from coronavirus. At the same time, state authorities announced a decrease in the number of new patients and the emergence of a “glimmer of hope” that the situation would soon improve.