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A snow leopard tested positive for COVID-19 in December at the Louisville Zoo in the US It is likely that it was infected by contact with an asymptomatic staff member "despite the precautions taken by the zoo" said animal health authorities.
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Spanish authorities ordered nearly 100,000 minks to be euthanized after an outbreak on a farm, where the animals are raised to use their fur, after several of them tested positive for the new coronavirus.
Minks are added to the list of animals that have tested positive for covid-19, the disease that has infected more than 13 million in the world and has left more than half a million deaths.
See in this gallery other animals that have tested positive for the virus and what we know about these infections.
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Two cats in New York were reported to be infected with the new coronavirus on April 22, federal officials announced.
Both had mild respiratory symptoms.
They were the first pets in the U.S. to test positive, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Archive image.
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Tigers: also in April the first case of a covid-19 positive tiger was reported.
It was about a tiger at the Bronx Zoo, New York.
Later, seven other big cats were infected, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society.
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This pug named Winston may have been the first dog in the United States to test positive for coronavirus, according to researchers.
The dog was tested as part of a study involving his family, who had had the disease.
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Ferrets can also get it.
One study found that ferrets were also "efficient" replicators of the virus, meaning the virus can easily grow and reproduce on their long, slippery bodies.
"SARS-CoV-2 can replicate in the ferrets' upper respiratory tract for up to eight days, without causing serious illness or death," the study said.
The study did not consider a longer time frame.
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Archive image.
2 dogs in Hong Kong and a cat in Belgium also tested positive in April, but the American Veterinary Medical Association gave a piece of reassurance on its website: "Infectious Disease Experts and Various International and National Human and Animal Health Organizations agree that there is no evidence at this time indicating that pets transmit COVID-19 to other animals, including people. "
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Pets may not infect people with coronavirus, but pet owners should protect cats, dogs, and other companion animals, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned. .
“Although it does not appear that animals can give you the virus, it seems that you can infect them.
So if you are sick, avoid direct contact with your pets.
If possible, have someone else take care of them until you are healthy again, ”says the FDA in a video.
(CNN) -
Another big cat has tested positive for coronavirus.
This time it's about a snow leopard at a Kentucky zoo.
It is the sixth animal species that is confirmed to have been infected with the virus after having contact with humans.
This 5-year-old female snow leopard belongs to the Louisville Zoo, the zoo and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed Friday.
Two other male snow leopards also showed mild symptoms and test results are pending, the zoo said.
All three leopards, whose symptoms are limited to loud breathing and a dry cough, are expected to make a full recovery, Louisville Zoo Director John Walczak said in a filmed statement.
The leopards were likely infected by contact with an asymptomatic staff member.
This would have happened "despite the precautions taken by the zoo," said the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Leopards, or other animals, are unlikely to pose a significant risk in transmitting the virus to humans.
This, since covid-19 is transmitted mainly between people.
Beyond the snow leopard: other animals that were infected with covid-19
Snow leopards are one of at least six animal species that have become infected with coronavirus after having close contact with humans.
The first was a Malayan tiger from the Bronx Zoo, which tested positive for coronavirus in April after showing symptoms of respiratory illness.
By the end of the month, eight of the zoo's big cats, including four other tigers and three African lions, had tested positive for the virus.
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Minks, tigers, dogs and other animals that have tested positive for coronavirus
A small number of dogs and cats have been infected with the virus in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In most animal infections, the coronavirus is not fatal, although outbreaks of COVID-19 on fur farms in the United States and abroad have killed thousands of minks.
