Articles by "Zoo"
2020 agriculture air air pollution alien Amazing android animals apes app Archaeology Arctic circle ash dieback Atmosphere Attack Australia bacteria BBC beautiful beauty biodiversity biology Canada case studies causes chalk writing chernobyl disaster china climate climate change conservation conserve convenient coronavirus cosmic countries COVID 19 cryosphere cyclones difference earth earth day earth hazards EarthScience EC TALKS Ecology ecowatch Ecowatch education effects electric cars electricity endangered species energy engineers env issues env management env news environment Environmental Science evidence Evolution Evolutionary Biology ezymes facts Fanal fear fear of failure fires food forest forset fossil & ruins galaxies garbage global problem gorillas greece green revolution greenland Human Evolution hurricanes hydraulic press ice impacts Incredible industrial revolution information insects interesting facts invaders IPCC italy land land pollution landscapes light lockdown Locusts locusts v/s grasshopper loss Madeira mammals marine motivation mouse Mutation mystery nano scale NASA national geographic Nature Newyork Nitrogen dioxide NMR noise noise pollution ocean oceans oil spill old trees olive orangutans pacific Pakistan pandemic park peace petrochemicals photography Pink lakes planet plants plastic plastic pollution playstore poem pollution ponder protect Rachel Summer rain forest Ramadan kareem recycling renewable research researchers rodents Russia safe practices SAS satisfaction save science situation size social distancing Solar system solution solutions Soothing south korea stars statistics success symptoms technology the Azores the Canary Islands think tank treatment tree planting trees Turtles types UK UK govt ukraine UNESCO US virus water water pollution WHO wildfires wildlife William Wordsworth woodlands WWF Zoo zoology
Twitter Facebook

April 08, 2020 , , , , , , , , ,

Veterinary scientists have recommended cat owners keep their pets indoors to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus among animals.

But the British Veterinary Association stressed "owners should not worry" about risk of infection from pets.
"There isn't a single case of a pet dog or cat infecting a human with Covid-19," Dr Angel Almendros, from City University in Hong Kong, told BBC News.
Research has shown cats may be able to catch the virus from other cats.
Dr Alemndros added that it would be sensible to keep cats indoors - where it is safe and possible to do so - during the outbreak.
  • How the pandemic is putting the spotlight on wildlife trade
  • The race to find the source of coronavirus in wildlife
The British Veterinary Association (BVA) president Daniella Dos Santos told BBC News she agreed with that advice. But the association has since clarified that its recommendation to concerned pet-owners is to take the precaution of keeping cats indoors "only if someone in their own household showed symptoms".
Every pet-owner though should "practise good hand hygiene," she said.
"An animal's fur could carry the virus for a time if a pet were to have come into contact with someone who was sick."
In a recent paper on the subject, Dr Angel Almendros referred to the case of a 17-year-old pet dog in Hong Kong that tested positive for the Covid-19 virus - apparently infected by its owner.
"But even where we have these positive results, the animals are not becoming sick," he said.
"As in the previous Sars-Cov outbreak in Hong Kong, in 2003, where a number of pets were infected but never became sick, there is no evidence that dogs or cats could become sick or infect people."

How is the disease transmitted from humans to animals?

It appears cats may be susceptible to infection from respiratory droplets - virus particles suspended in air that people cough, sneeze or breathe out.
Following a case in Belgium where a cat tested positive about a week after its owner showed symptoms, scientists in China carried out lab tests that provided evidence of infected cats transmitting the virus to other cats.
"It is interesting to note in the experimental evidence that cats can become infected, alongside the apparent infection of a tiger [at Bronx Zoo in New York]," Prof Bryan Charleston, director of the UK's Pirbright Institute, which specializes in the study of infectious disease, said, adding that the "evidence on the transmissibility" from humans to other animals was building.

There is also evidence humans can transmit respiratory infections to wild great apes, which makes the global spread of Covid-19 a concern for conservationists working to protect critically endangered animals, including gorillas.
In all of these cases though, it is infected humans that pose the threat to other species.
Dr Almendros told BBC News: "We know that the virus did make the jump from an animal into humans [at the beginning of this crisis]". But, he explained, that this appeared to be linked to people eating those animals.
There is no evidence that domestic animals can pass this disease back to people.

"Treat pets like other people in your household. So if you're feeling sick, it's better not to interact with them," said Dr Almendros.
"I hope pet owners can sleep a bit better with the right advice and information," he added. "It isn't easy these days, I know."
Source: By Victoria Gill
Science correspondent, BBC NewsDate: 8th April, 2020
Twitter Facebook

April 07, 2020 , , , , , , , , , ,

A four-year-old female Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo has tested positive for the coronavirus.


The tiger, named Nadia, is believed to be the first known case of an animal infected with Covid-19 in the US.
The Bronx Zoo, in New York City, says the test result was confirmed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa.
Nadia, along with six other big cats, is thought to have been infected by an asymptomatic zoo keeper.
The cats started showing symptoms, including a dry cough, late last month after exposure to the employee, who has not been identified.
"This is the first time that any of us know of anywhere in the world that a person infected the animal and the animal got sick," Paul Calle, the chief veterinarian at the zoo, told Reuters news agency on Sunday.
There have been isolated instances of pets testing positive for the coronavirus elsewhere in the world, but experts have stressed there is no evidence they can become sick or spread the disease.
Mr Calle said he intends to share the findings with other zoos and institutions researching the transmission of Covid-19.
  • Tiger King star in virus isolation, husband says
  • Pangolins carry strains related to new coronavirus
"We tested the cat [Nadia] out of an abundance of caution and will ensure any knowledge we gain about Covid-19 will contribute to the world's continuing understanding of this novel coronavirus," the zoo said in a statement.
Nadia, her sister Azul, as well as two Amur tigers and three African lions who showed symptoms, are all expected to make a full recovery, the zoo said.
The big cats did have some decrease in appetite but "are otherwise doing well under veterinary care and are bright, alert, and interactive with their keepers", it said.
The zoo said it is not known how the virus will develop in animals like tigers and lions since various species can react differently to new infections, but all the animals will be closely monitored.
None of the zoo's other big cats are showing any signs of illness. All the tigers showing symptoms were housed in the zoo's Tiger Mountain area. It is unclear if the others will be tested.
All four zoos run by the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York City, including the Bronx Zoo, have been closed to the public since 16 March. New measures will now be put in place to protect the animals and their caretakers at all the facilities.
  • Calls to protect great apes from coronavirus
  • Shenzhen becomes first Chinese city to ban eating cats and dogs
  • Coronavirus: Five things you need to know

What do we know about animals and the virus?

This coronavirus was first detected in humans in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
The coronavirus (called Sars-CoV-2, which causes the disease Covid-19) is thought to have originated in wildlife and been passed to humans via a live animal market in Wuhan.
The pandemic has been driven by human-to-human transmission, but the infection of Nadia raises new questions about human-to-animal transmission.

There have been less than a handful of isolated reports of companion animals testing positive for coronavirus, including two dogs in Hong Kong.
There is "no evidence that any person has been infected with Covid-19 in the US by animals, including by pet dogs or cats," the zoo's statement noted.
That is also the view of the World Organisation for Animal Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), which says there is no evidence that pet dogs or cats can pass on the coronavirus.
The World Organisation for Animal Health says studies are under way to understand the issue more. and urges anyone who has become sick to limit contact with pets.
Dr Sarah Caddy, Veterinarian and Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, is among experts to respond to the reports.
"It is surprising that the tiger has become infected with what must have been a fairly low dose of virus - we can assume the tiger did not have continual close contact with the asymptomatic zoo keeper," she said about the transmission.
"It is also interesting that the tiger showed clinical signs consistent with Covid-19 in humans. Although scientific proof is lacking, the chance this is just a coincidence is low."
Conservation experts have warned that the virus could pose a threat to some wildlife like the great apes - and have said measures are needed to reduce the risk of wild gorillas, chimps and orangutans.
Source: BBC News
Date: 6th April, 2020

MKRdezign

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *

Powered by Blogger.
Javascript DisablePlease Enable Javascript To See All Widget