Bronx Zoo Tiger tests positive to COVID-19 at Bronx Zoo

A tiger at the Bronx zoo tested positive for Covid19

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ho...C-s-Bronx-Zoo-tests-positive-for-15180589.php

 

Not just a tiger, four out of the zoo's eight tigers (two Malayan and two Amur) and all three Lions have contracted the disease. Here's the press release by the WCS.

~Thylo

 

I can’t believe how many cats got the virus. In addition aren’t the lion and tiger exhibits on completely different sides of the zoo?

 

But the same (presumably infected) keeper probably works with both groups of animals. This is truly distressing.

 

I'm fearful that the COVID-19 could also be transmitted to the primates that call Bronx Zoo. Keepers already take precautions to prevent cross-contamination between themselves and the primates, but could any keepers that aren't showing signs of illness have already passed it on to any of the primates already?

Bronx has a few older gorillas in their late 30's, as well as one at 40. I would hate to see any of their gorillas to die from something as devastating as COVID-19.

 

It's what's not said here that concerns me more. Neither the caregiver nor the affected cats seemed to be noticeably symptomatic, so why were the cats tested in the first place? Was this, rather, part of larger species-wide research to see which, if any, could contract this virus? That would be incredibly valuable to know, and I can certainly see WCS offering to use its collection for such research, but why then is there no mention of all the other animals? Even if it wasn't part of some such study, surely other species have now been tested knowing of the risk of asymptomatic keepers, especially for primates, but notably, the press release does not assure us that all of the other animals are doing fine. Why is there no mention of any other species?

 

It is concerning indeed. I know many zoos were already taking heavy precautions with their apes in particular. Hopefully Bronx is an outlier and all their animals recover. I would expect the reputable zoos will quickly adapt protocols to prevent similar circumstances. While the news is upsetting, I say good for Bronx for being open and thus alerting other zoos of the need to be extra careful.

Additionally, a big thank you to all the keepers working hard to keep all our beloved collections alive during this tough time. I know several personally and they are going great lengths to keep the animals healthy and safe.

 

The keeper was asymptotic, yet the cats were symptomatic. The cats had a dry cough, weezing, and a reduced appetite. So the zoo did tests to rule out common causes of this, but those came back negative. Only then did they then collaborate with several labs and the USDA to test a cat for Covid-19. The test was only done on one tiger because it required her to be knocked out, which according to the zoo was already scheduled (likely for a regular checkup).

The individual in question was likely only a keeper for the cats, so minimal exposure to other animals at the zoo. I’d imagine if other animals are symptomatic or keepers come back positive more testing will be done.

 

Yes, those tests would obviously be indicated, but the asymptomatic keeper is the real problem; that person has no idea they have it so won't have been tested. I really hope that there was testing of other species--in retrospect, it seems like a no-brainer to learn what species could contract this novel virus. With the asymptomatic keeper, one can't determine if animals are sick until they already have symptoms, making recovery more difficult than if known to be at risk ahead of time. I think they have no choice but to test all zoo personnel who come in direct contact with the collection to identify those who are infected but asymptomatic.

 

From what I understand the person was asymptotic at the time but has now been tested, and come baxk positive. For both the animals and personnel testing is hard. Testing is limited, so testing all the zoo staff is already difficult yet unless you are going to continuously test them then its of little use. For the animals testing is hard, in the tigers case they had to knock her out. Thats a risk on animals, especially if they are not showing any signs. Then the tests have to be sent to labs hours away, and later validated by the USDA. So with the difficulties and realities around testing I fully understand the zoos position.

 

I think there's less of a concern with the primates, just because good zoos already take a lot of steps to prevent the transfer of illnesses with them. They already wear masks all the time, use gloves and foot washes, things like that. Masks aren't really worn around cats.

 

No offense to animal lovers everywhere (myself included), but the potential risk to zoo animals from human exposure is the least of my concerns here, the implications on the larger pandemic are more worrisome. Im far more concerned that the disease seems to so easily transmit from humans to animals and potentially vice versa. I am far from qualified in public health, pathology or epidemiology but this seems to be quite a significant development in the understanding of the disease, and I am anxiously looking for any qualified analysis published on this development.

 

This is why I feel sure that somewhere tests are being done on many species to give us these answers. Epidemiologists and those serving the public health need to know in order to best prevent spread. While keepers notice every detail, the symptoms mentioned were relatively mild. Yes, they warranted testing, but I'm still not convinced that there wasn't already testing across species being done for research. The very fact that the USDA has a protocol for this shows it's on their radar. In terms of the "zoo's position" on testing more animals and staff, I don't think we have any idea what that position is. They've simply described what they did in the specific instance of the tiger, mentioning not a single other animal in the zoo. With the attention being paid to keeping members connected to the zoo's well-being, if they knew categorically that COVID had only affected these cats, I feel sure they would have leapt to reassure everyone that the rest of the collection is unaffected. This they didn't do.

 

I wonder if this cat was tested just because it was sick and had been in contact with an infected keeper, or if it was part of a larger research project looking at inter-species transmission. It seems unlikely to me that they just had access to test kits for just any sick animals considering that many people in the states with significant symptoms still cant get tested.

 

From my understanding, research has always shown that the virus could theoretically be transmitted to big cats, but this is the first known instance of them actually contracting it.

~Thylo

 

I posted this on another thread but does anyone else think it's a bit ironic that the first animal in the U.S. to test positive for COVID, of all species, is a tiger? I'm mean really?

 

The animal was showing signs of respiratory distress and after several tests COVID was tested. Here is more:
"From Dr. Paul Calle, Bronx Zoo chief veterinarian; "The COVID-19 testing that was performed on our Malayan tiger Nadia was performed in a veterinary school laboratory and is not the same test as is used for people. You cannot send human samples to the veterinary laboratory, and you cannot send animal tests to the human laboratories, so there is no competition for testing between these very different situations.""

 

I can see the potential irony, but I'm not surprised. As @DelacoursLangur pointed out, many/most people can't even get tested, let alone their pets. Zoos on the other hand have far more resources at their disposal.

 

This is actually not completely correct. Yes, laboratories for animal samples and human samples have different licence, quality assurance (ISO) and reporting protocols. But in the core they run the same PCR tests using the same equipment and procedures.

In my country, our hospital laboratories have very limited capacity and were not able to process enough number of coronavirus samples. So some veterinary laboratories got special permission (after validation of their results) and are allowed to process human samples since few weeks.

 

In the UK (where they receive no subsidy either) veterinary laboratories are already closing Animal Health Trust to close thanks to coronavirus crisis unless emergency funding can be found - this one has (had!) the Princess Royal as Patron.