Tiger at Bronx Zoo Tests Positive for COVID-19

A four-year-old female Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo has tested positive for the new coronavirus.

The tiger, named Nadia, is believed to be the first known case of an animal infected with COVID-19 in the US.

The Bronx Zoo, in New York City, says the test result was confirmed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa, the BBC reports. 

"Nadia, along with six other big cats, is thought to have been infected by an asymptomatic zoo keeper," reads the article. 

The cats started showing symptoms, including a dry cough, late last month after exposure to the employee, who has not been identified.

"This is the first time that any of us know of anywhere in the world that a person infected an animal and the animal got sick," Paul Calle, the chief veterinarian at the zoo, told Reuters news agency on Sunday.

There have been isolated instances of pets testing positive for the coronavirus elsewhere in the world, but experts have stressed there is no evidence they can become sick or spread the disease.

Mr. Calle said he intends to share the findings with other zoos and institutions researching the transmission of COVID-19.

Nadia, her sister Azul, as well as two Amur tigers and three African lions who showed symptoms, are all expected to make a full recovery, the zoo said.

The Bronx Zoo has been closed since March 16.

Source: BBC