How did a 4-year-old Malayan tiger contract Covid-19?

Team Udayavani, Apr 9, 2020, 2:47 PM IST

Nadia, a tiger at New York’s Bronx Zoo tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday. It is said, Nadia was spotted dry coughing and wheezing in her enclosure at the Bronx Zoo.

The next week her sister, Azul, two Amur tigers, and three African lions in a different facility looked sick.

Later, Nadia was tranquilized, and they conducted an ultrasound, took several nose swabs and extracted blood for tests. Nadia’s samples were sent to two veterinarian schools which confirmed Covid-19.

How did the 4-year-old Malayan tiger contract covid-19?

Nadia is the first confirmed case of a wild or domesticated cat to come down with the disease. Zookeepers think Nadia got it from an infected human who was asymptomatic.

A recent study said that the problem is human contact with wildlife and manipulation of the environment by humans.

Although, usually viruses get spread through animals to humans but in Nadia’s case it was vice versa. We are invading the habitat of the wildlife creatures, the destruction of wild habitats through urban and agricultural development sends wild creatures rushing to areas where humans live.

The animal world is loaded with viruses which are are known to infect animals but through pollution and climate change, humans have created the conditions for those viruses to flourish.