(Johannesburg) Two pumas and three lions living in captivity at a zoo in South Africa have been infected with COVID-19, the virus having apparently been transmitted by asymptomatic staff members, according to a study published on Tuesday.
Posted at 1:32 p.m.
The transmission of the virus by humans to animals “poses a risk for big cats in captivity”, warns the study carried out by the University of Pretoria.
PCR tests showed that the felines were positive up to seven weeks after being infected, suggesting that the animals may be affected by “a more serious form of the disease”, underlines the report.
The study was launched after three African lions tested positive for COVID-19 last year. They had symptoms similar to those of humans: difficulty breathing, runny nose, cough. A lioness has developed pneumonia.
Five zoo employees in contact with the animals tested positive, suggesting that the origin of the infection came from humans.
Sequencing tests established it to be the Delta variant, then dominant in South Africa.
A year earlier, two pumas showing signs of anorexia and suffering from diarrhea and a runny nose also tested positive for COVID-19.
They were cured after three weeks. In their case, neither the source of contamination nor the variant could be determined.