New York Tiger Tests Positive For COVID-19

By Ayodele Oluwafemi

A tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City has tested positive for Coronavirus, the US Department of Agriculture has announced.

This is the first case of the COVID-19 infection in an animal in the United States.

The four-year-old Malayan Tiger named Nadia was among six other big cats exhibiting symptoms of Illness, the Wildlife Conservation Society, in charge of the Zoo said in a statement on Monday.

Paul Calle, Chief Veterinarian at the Bronx Zoo told Reuters news agency that the tiger became sick after being exposed to asymptomatic Zoo keeper, but they did not know which of the Zoo keepers was exposed to the tiger.

The Chief Veterinarian noted that the tiger was screened for the COVID-19 disease after developing a dry cough along with three other tigers and three lions, adding that all of the cats are expected to recover.

Calle said, “Considering what’s going on in New York City, we, of course, did the COVID testing.”

The team took samples at the zoo, after sedating Nadia. They sent the samples for testing to the New York State Diagnostic Laboratory at Cornell University and the samples University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.

“It is not the same type of test that health care providers give to people, so there is no competition for testing between these very different situations,” he said.

Calle disclosed that they planned to share the findings with other zoos and institutions for better understanding of the virus.

There were no reported cases of COVID-19 in pets or livestock in the US as the findings raises questions on the transmission of the virus in animals.

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