NEW YORK (AP) — A tiger at the Bronx Zoo has tested positive for the new coronavirus, in what is believed to be the first known infection in an animal in the U.S. or a tiger anywhere, federal officials and the zoo said Sunday.
Damn you Tiger King!
Of all the zoos in all the world…
If this poor animal is doomed, please let Trump be its last meal.
Joe Exotic should be brought in to care for it.
ASPCA would be all over that…
Tigers cannot handle that much fat…
I’d be interested to know just what kind of corona virus test was run on these cats. Given that COVID-19 tests are not available for human testing in the numbers needed was one used to test this cat? Cats harbor many corona viruses such as FIP and enteric forms. Was the test specific enough to ID COVID from those?
For those commenting on Joe Exotic: he’s an attention seeking ( check out the ear rings, exaggerated mustache and necklace ) asshole that doesn’t give a shit about cats. Forcing solitary cats like tigers into a hierarchical setting is incredibly stressful on them. They can scale and adopt that social order but not without incredible emotional trauma. A tiger that will pose with you or let you hug it is just a broken beast. A shell of an animal sans its greatness.
There was a study out of China I believe a week or so ago about cats being able to get infected and carry the virus, though they had not tested if it could go cat-to-human. Given that coronavirus’ originate (often? always?) in animals seems understandable that many animals could get it. Hope the endangered ones that do get this pull through.
The Twit thread has a response that it was for animals. Different kind.
If it was a regular Corona ( FIP ) PcR there’s no reason to think it was COVID.
Vets. Fuck em. Recently the FVMA ( Florida Veterinary Medical Association ) sent out a bulletin on elective procedures. Since the AMA has said they should not be done on people due to COVID needing all the medical assets America can muster up the FVMA decided to play doctor and tell vets not to do them either. How silly is that? Not too silly if you know the veterinary community. Playing “real doctor” has been around forever in VM. Why a white exam coat? VM is a dirty biz. That coat would better fit a transmission mechanic than a vet. But they need it so much to be a real doctor.
The zoo was reckless in playing real doctor in this case. No fucking way that test they ran ID’s COVID and they know that. To irresponsibly alarm the public like that should result in administrative actions against the vet.
“For some, especially older adults and people, it can cause more severe illness…”
Speaking as an older adult, I don’t feel so alone anymore knowing that people can become sick as well.
That study you are quoting was not reviewed by peers.
We have very little understanding of how we infect our pets.
What we do know so far is that no pet was involved in infecting anyone so far.
The infection travels from human to human, carried by our spit. The other excretions we produce don’t carry enough of the virus to be dangerous. Apparently. Hence the change of heart on the masks issue.
Apparently, a jackass was susceptible, as well…
I can’t respond to the “type of test”, but the information might be available from the testing organization. I believe the test was performed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory.
The National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) provides laboratory services for the US Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). It operates from Ames, Iowa and Plum Island Animal Disease Center at Plum Island, New York.
I am under the impression that the test does NOT detect COVID-19. The test detects the presence of SARS-CoV-2. Big difference. COVID-19 is the disease that manifests from the virus. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus. I suspect that you already knew this.
The knowledge in science evolves. If the virus in the tiger’s lungs is SARS-CoV-2, then there’s little reason to believe that it would not be shedding virus through coughs, mucus, saliva, etcetera. If it is SARS-CoV-2, then it can most likely be spread between species. What’s the word for that kind of virus? Zoonotic? I guess I should look it up… Aren’t a subset of corona viruses zoonotic?
You make assumptions that aren’t entirely true. The virus exists in feces. A lot of people don’t wash their hands. How many elevator buttons are there in New York City? Yes, disgusting but true. And to ride the subway…
This is all deadly serious, of course. But there is some humor to be found:
I have an alternate hypothesis. Maybe it went like this: “Nadia isn’t enjoying her meals like she used to. I wonder if she can still smell and taste.”
There always is humor. A world without humor would have an even greater rate of insanity. Flatten the curve on insanity.