Endangered 'Numpyobeom' Also Not Spared by COVID-19... Sixth Infected Animal After Mink and Lions

Female snow leopard 'Nishi' diagnosed with COVID-19
[Image source = Louisville Zoo]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] It has been reported that the endangered snow leopard in the United States has tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). It is the sixth animal species to be confirmed positive after dogs, cats, minks, and lions following contact with humans.

On the 11th (local time), foreign media including CNN reported that three snow leopards at the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky, USA, tested positive for COVID-19.

On the same day, the Louisville Zoo and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) under the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that two male snow leopards and one female were infected with COVID-19. After the 5-year-old female 'Nishi' tested positive, the males 'Kimti' and 'Meru' were subsequently confirmed positive.

According to the zoo, the leopards showed mild respiratory symptoms such as dry cough and difficulty breathing starting two weeks ago. The zoo sent leopard samples to the University of Illinois laboratory on the 4th for testing, and on the 7th, PCR tests using gene amplification methods confirmed positive results.

The snow leopards are presumed to have been infected with COVID-19 by an asymptomatic infected zoo employee. A zoo official stated, "Since April, all animal contact has required wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), and employees were instructed to rest at home and undergo health checks if they felt unwell. Nevertheless, transmission from an asymptomatic infected person could not be prevented."

Meanwhile, COVID-19 is a representative zoonotic disease that can infect both humans and animals. So far, various animals including dogs, cats, tigers, ferrets, hamsters, and minks have been infected with COVID-19 through humans.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that animals infected with COVID-19 were confirmed positive after contact with people and stated, "The likelihood of animals spreading COVID-19 to people is low."

However, exceptionally, minks have transmitted COVID-19 to humans. Last month, when minks infected with COVID-19 transmitted the virus back to farm workers, the Danish government culled 17 million minks raised domestically.

Meanwhile, the snow leopard is a large carnivore belonging to the feline family, like lions and tigers. It inhabits mountainous regions of Central and South Asia and is also called the "mountain leopard" or "gray leopard." Due to poaching by hunters seeking their fur, their population has drastically decreased. Currently, they are facing a severe risk of extinction.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.