Denmark will burn dead minks to avoid contagion (2021) 0:47
(CNN) --
Hong Kong authorities say they will euthanize some 2,000 small animals, including all pet store hamsters, due to concerns about the transmission of COVID-19.
On Tuesday, authorities reported that 11 hamsters at the city's Little Boss pet store had tested positive for the virus in preliminary results.
The animals were imported from the Netherlands in two batches, one on January 7 and one on December 22, according to Dr. Leung Siu-fai, director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation.
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The samples were taken after a 23-year-old worker at the store, located in Hong Kong's busy Causeway Bay district, was confirmed to be infected with the delta variant on Monday.
In general, health authorities said the risk of transmission from animals to humans is possible, but low.
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Samples taken in the environment of the store's warehouse, where the small animals are kept, also confirmed the presence of traces of coronavirus, according to the authorities.
Authorities asked the store to hand over all of its small animals, including hamsters, rabbits, chinchillas and guinea pigs, and asked people who bought hamsters after Dec. 22 to hand over their animals for testing and euthanasia.
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In addition, pet stores that sell hamsters have been asked to deliver the animals.
The importation of all small animals into the city has been suspended and all pet shops that sell hamsters have been asked to cease operations immediately.
These pet stores will be allowed to reopen once all of their small animals have been tested and their results come back negative, officials added.
Possible quarantine measures for covid-19 to animals in Hong Kong
Authorities said Tuesday that they will also review quarantine measures for small imported animals, including the possibility of testing before and after arrival.
"We cannot rule out the possibility that when these animals were imported they were already carriers of the coronavirus. In light of this, we cannot rule out the possibility that people in contact with these animals are at increased risk (of infection)," he said. Tuesday at a press conference Dr. Edwin Tsui, head of the Center for Sanitary Protection of the Department of Health.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been documented cases of COVID-19 in animals that likely picked up the virus from humans, but there is less evidence to suggest the possibility of transmission from animals. to humans.
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Hong Kong reported that 11 hamsters at a pet shop in the city had tested positive for the virus in preliminary results, ordering 2,000 small animals to be euthanized on July 18, 2022.
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Two hippos in Belgium, named Imani and Hermien, have tested positive for Covid-19 but have not shown any symptoms "apart from a runny nose", the zoo said.
See other animals that have tested positive for coronavirus →
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The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta said its Asian small-clawed otters have tested positive for COVID-19.
The aquarium suspects the otters caught it from an asymptomatic staff member.
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In California, the San Diego Zoo reported in January that at least two of its gorillas had tested positive for COVID-19.
These are the first cases reported in great apes.
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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 he became infected from contact with an asymptomatic staff member "despite precautions taken by the zoo" animal health authorities said.
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| Spanish authorities have ordered the culling of nearly 100,000 mink after an outbreak at a farm, where the animals are raised for their fur, after several of them tested positive for the new coronavirus. Minks join the list of animals that have tested positive for covid-19, the disease that has infected more than 13 million people worldwide and left more than half a million dead. See in this gallery other animals that have tested positive for the virus and what we know about these infections.
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On April 22, two cats in New York were reported to be infected with the new coronavirus, federal officials announced.
Both had mild respiratory symptoms.
They were the first pets in the US to test positive, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Stock image.
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Tigers: Also in April, the first case of a positive tiger for covid-19 was reported.
It was a tiger at the Bronx Zoo, New York.
Then seven other big cats became 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 underwent a test as part of the study involving his family, who had had the disease.
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Ferrets can also be infected.
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 upper respiratory tract of ferrets for up to eight days, without causing severe illness or death," the study said.
The study did not consider a longer time frame.
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| Stock image. 2 dogs in Hong Kong and a cat in Belgium also tested positive in April, but the American Veterinary Medical Association gave a reassuring note 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 that pets transmit COVID-19 to other animals, including people."
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Pets may not infect people with coronavirus, but pet owners need to protect cats, dogs and other companion animals, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned. .
“Although it doesn't seem like animals can give you the virus, it seems you can give it to 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," the FDA says in a video.
In November 2020, Denmark said it had found a mutated strain of the coronavirus among its mink population that had spread to humans.
In response, the government announced the culling of 17 million mink to stop its spread.
The Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) says it is "shocked and concerned" by the decision to euthanize more than 2,000 small animals, adding that "animal welfare was not taken into account". nor the bond between humans and animals".