Nine of the 15 lioness at the Aringnar Anna Zoological Park near Vandalur, Chennai have reportedly tested positive for Coronavirus and one of them succumbed to it. MUSBA HASHMI talks to doctors who throw light on the probable human-animal transmission of the virus and advise COVID-19 patients to stay away from their pets
Mucormycosis, post-COVID complications and increasing deaths, the COVID woes doesn’t seem to end anytime soon. The recent addition to the list is animals testing COVID positive.
A lioness in Aringnar Anna Zoological Park near Vandalur, Chennai has succumbed to the virus, while eight others were found infected with the virus.
While the source of infection is under investigation, doctors say that there is a minimal risk of humans spreading Coronavirus to animals.
“We have had reports coming in from all around the world on a small number of pets, cats and dogs infected in several countries. One ferret was reported positive for COVID too in Slovenia. Several animals in zoos and sanctuaries have tested positive including lions, tigers, pumas, snow leopards, gorillas, etc. It is likely they have got the virus from their caretakers. Though the risk of human to animal transmission is minimal, we can’t ignore it,” Dr Shuchin Bajaj, Internal Medicine ( Founder Director), Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals, says.
The news about lions, he says, is not unexpected or new, it is just that nine of them have been found positive so it is a slightly concerning event otherwise. We have had reports from around the world of animals being infected.
Not only this, but there are reports of animals infecting humans, given that the origin of the virus is said to be from a bat. “There have been few solid cases of animal-to-human transmission of the Coronavirus, and minks are one example. Dutch authorities announced this week that they suspect a mink has transmitted the coronavirus to a worker at a fur farm in the Netherlands. If confirmed, this would be the first concrete evidence of a specific species passing the virus to a human,” Dr Yash Javeri, Critical Care, Anesthesia and Emergency Medicine, Regency Superspecialty Hospital, Lucknow, says.
He adds that an analysis found strong similarities between the virus in the worker and in the animals, making it plausible that the virus jumped species. “Based on this comparison and the position of that form of the virus in the family tree, the researchers concluded that it is likely that one staff member at an infected farm has been infected by mink,” he says.
This might come as a shock to pet parents who don’t separate their pets from a family member who had tested positive.
“Though we have had a small number of pets contracting the virus, but it proves the fact that human can transmit the virus to animals during close contact. Hence, people should treat pets just as they would treat any other family member. Don’t let them interact with people outside the household. If a person catches COVID, isolate him from everyone else including the pets. The pets should also not stay with a person who is down with the disease,” Bajaj advises.
The safety precautions, he says, are not only humans, but animals too. If you have a cat, please do not let it roam around freely. “If you have a dog and you have to take them for a walk, then please keep it on a leash and keep it at least six feet away from other people. Avoid public places,” Bajaj adds.
However, don’t go a step forward and mask your pets. Pets are not used to masks. “Don’t disinfect them with alcohol or chemical disinfectants or hydrogen peroxide or hand sanitisers or wipes or surface and industrial cleaners,” he tells you.
So far, there are no proper reports on the type of Coronavirus infecting animals. In order, to identify the type, Dr Arunesh Kumar, Senior Consultant & Head Respiratory Medicine /Pulmonology, Paras Hospital, says that we need to do genome sequencing of the virus. “It is difficult to comment on the mutated strain of virus till it is not sequenced,” he says.
