PCR tests showed that the cats tested positive for up to seven weeks after being contaminated.
Cougars and three lions living in captivity at a zoo in South Africa have been contaminated by Covid-19, a virus that appears to have been transmitted by asymptomatic staff members, according to a study published Tuesday.
The transmission of the virus from humans to animals “presents a risk to large cats in captivity,” warns the study carried out by the University of Pretoria.
The PCR tests showed that the cats were positive up to seven weeks after being contaminated, which suggests that the animals may be affected by “a more serious form of the disease,” the report underlines.
The study was launched after three lions in Africa tested positive for Covid-19 last year. They presented symptoms similar to those of humans: respiratory difficulties, runny nose, cough. A lioness developed pneumonia.
Five zoo staff in contact with the animals tested positive, suggesting the source of the infection was human.
Test sequencing established that it was the Delta variant, then dominant in South Africa.
A year earlier, two cougars showing signs of anorexia and suffering from diarrhea and a runny nose also tested positive for Covid.
They healed in three weeks. In these cases neither the source of contamination nor the variant could be determined. (I)
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