April 6, 2020 - 13:47 AMT
New York zoo tiger tests positive for coronavirus

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 on Sunday, April 5, according to The Guardian.

The four-year-old Malayan tiger named Nadia – and six other tigers and lions that have also fallen ill – are believed to have been infected by a zoo employee who wasn’t yet showing symptoms, the zoo said. The first animal started showing symptoms on 27 March, and all were doing well and expected to recover, said the zoo, which has been closed to the public since 16 March amid the outbreak.

“These are extremely hard days for all of us – no matter where we live and work. We will ensure that whatever we can learn from these circumstances will be used to better understand and combat this disease,” zoo director Jim Breheny said in a statement.

There have been a handful of reports outside the United States of pet dogs or cats becoming infected after close contact with contagious people, including a Hong Kong dog that tested positive for a low level of the pathogen in February and early March.

Nearly 10,000 Americans have died in the coronavirus outbreak, with more than 337,000 infected. New York has been the worst affected state.