(Fighting against New Crown Pneumonia) The world's first tiger new crown virus test is positive. How do you think "the virus is stronger than the tiger"?

China News Agency, Beijing, April 8 Question: The world's first tiger new crown virus test is positive. How do you think "virus is stronger than tiger"?

Author Huang Yuqin

After cats and dogs, tigers have become another “crucial” new crown virus victims in the animal world. On April 5, local time, a 4-year-old Malay Tiger new crown virus test was positive in the Bronx Zoo in New York, becoming the first animal to be infected with the new crown virus in the United States.

According to the zoo, the tiger developed symptoms of dry cough and loss of appetite on March 27, and was tested for viruses on April 2. In addition, three tigers and three African lions in the zoo showed similar symptoms, but they were not tested, and the remaining animals showed no signs of illness.

The related statement pointed out that these animals may have been infected by a zoo worker who was infected with asymptomatic new coronavirus. "Although their appetite has decreased, they are expected to fully recover under the care of a veterinarian."

At present, how to treat "virus is fiercer than tiger" has become a topic of concern. In this regard, Scott Weese, a professor of medicine at the University of Guelph in Canada, said in an interview with a reporter from China News Service that tigers infected with new coronary pneumonia should not be interpreted excessively as a "dangerous signal." Susceptibility, people need not be too surprised by wild cat infections.

“It ’s worth noting that cats in zoos usually do n’t have a lot of direct contact with breeders.” He pointed out, “Therefore, infections can be caused by very brief direct or indirect contact, and people need to pay more attention to the spread of animals in the virus. The role it plays in. "

There is a precedent for large cats in zoos infected with epidemic viruses. Gregory C. Gray, professor of infectious diseases at Duke University in the United States, quoted information from the National Library of Medicine and told the China News Service that from 2014 to 2015, three cases of Siberian tiger infections have occurred in zoos in Yunnan, China. Case of highly pathogenic avian influenza. Scott Weiss also pointed out that large cats can be infected with a variety of viruses, including viruses that are mainly spread in wild animals, as well as viruses transmitted by domestic cats.

Therefore, after the first tiger infection with the new coronavirus, whether to close the zoo has become the focus of public debate. In fact, the Bronx Zoo in New York has not been open to the public since March 16, but the animals did not show symptoms of infection until March 27. Scott Weiss said that the zoo was closed to maintain a "social distance". In most zoos, the animals in the cages are far enough away from the public that there is no need to worry about the risk of virus exposure. "Zoos and other public facilities, the main consideration for closure or not should come from avoiding crowds."

In addition, after the news that "the virus is fiercer than tiger", the public has once again raised concerns about whether domestic pets will infect or spread the new coronavirus.

Recently, Chinese animal medicine experts conducted a serum test study on hundreds of cats collected in Wuhan, and found that 15 out of 102 samples (accounting for about 14.7%) after the outbreak had a positive virus test. 14.7% of cats have been infected with New Coronavirus ".

One of the above researchers, Professor Jin Meilin of Huazhong Agricultural University, clarified that it is not accurate to pick out "14.7% of cats have been infected with new coronavirus" without a defined range, which will mislead the public and cause panic. Its research team emphasized that all cats have no clinical symptoms and no evidence that the cats are infected in a large area and oppose the behavior of abandoning cats.

The reporter checked the official website of the World Animal Health Organization and found that a total of Hong Kong, China and Belgium had reported pet infections to them. The owners of the two dogs and one cat who were reported to be infected were both diagnosed with the new coronavirus.

"Compared to other domestic animals, cats and dogs are now found to be more infected with new coronavirus." Gregory Gray said, "The reason is more likely that they have more intimate contact with patients infected with new coronavirus, which also leads to more Of cats and dogs have been tested. "In this regard, the official website of the World Organization for Animal Health also gave the same conclusion.

Some analysis pointed out that ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) needs to be used as the receptor for the new coronavirus infection. The ACE2 receptor structure of different species is different. The structure of ACE2 in cats determines the relative susceptibility of the species, but it does not mean that after infection Being sick does not mean that the virus will be transmitted to humans. The World Organization for Animal Health emphasizes that there is currently no evidence that pets will be responsible for the spread of the new coronavirus to humans.

In view of the fact that human transmission may have occurred, Scott Weiss has three recommendations for families who keep pets: if they are infected, they need to limit contact with animals; if they are infected, they need to restrict the animals and other people in the family Or contact with animals; maintain "social distance" including pets, and try to avoid pets from contacting people and animals outside.

"The most important thing is to stay rational and avoid overreaction." He said. (Finish)