Coronavirus: Three lions test positive at same zoo where tiger got virus off zookeeper

Three lions and four more tigers at the Bronx Zoo in New York have tested positive for coronavirus, officials have announced.

The animals were tested after Nadia, a four-year-old Malaysian tiger, caught the bug, reportedly from a keeper.

The Wildlife Conservation Society said in a statement: "We tested the tigers and lions out of an abundance of caution and will ensure any knowledge we gain about covid-19 will contribute to the world’s continuing understanding of this novel coronavirus."

“The testing of these cats was done in veterinary laboratories and resources used did not take from those being used for human testing."


All but one of the big cats had shown symptoms, including a cough, similar to Nadia’s.

Two cats in New York have become the first pets in the United States to test positive for the coronavirus but there is no evidence pets can spread the virus to humans, according to US health authorities.

The cats, from separate areas of New York state, had mild respiratory illness and are expected to make a full recovery.

It is believed that they contracted the virus from people in their households or neighborhoods, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at the country's daily coronavirus briefing: "Animals, pets, can get infected. ... There's no evidence that the virus is transmitted from the pet to a human."



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