Lions and pumas at a zoo in Pretoria got severe Covid-19 from asymptomatic zoo handlers, raising concerns that new variants could emerge from animal reservoirs of the disease, studies carried out by a local university showed.
A 2020 study of feces from two pumas showed the animals had Covid-19, the University of Pretoria said in a statement on Tuesday. A year later, in the midst of SA’s Delta-variant-driven third wave, three lions, one of which had pneumonia, tested positive for the coronavirus.
Covid-19 infected lions prompt variant warning in South Africa
Image: Bloomberg
Lions and pumas at a zoo in Pretoria got severe Covid-19 from asymptomatic zoo handlers, raising concerns that new variants could emerge from animal reservoirs of the disease, studies carried out by a local university showed.
A 2020 study of feces from two pumas showed the animals had Covid-19, the University of Pretoria said in a statement on Tuesday. A year later, in the midst of SA’s Delta-variant-driven third wave, three lions, one of which had pneumonia, tested positive for the coronavirus.
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The studies add to evidence that while the dominant theory is that the coronavirus spread from animals to humans, the reverse can also happen. The disease could mutate in the animals and reinfect humans, the researchers said.
Since the pandemic began, minks infected with the coronavirus in Denmark have been culled and Hong Kong said on Tuesday that 2,000 small animals including hamsters would be culled after some tested positive for the disease.
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