Impact of Coronavirus on Animals

Impact of Coronavirus on Animals: Coronavirus started spreading around the globe, reports come out of cases in animals — pet cats in Hong Kong, tigers in a New York City zoo and mink on farms in the Netherlands. Recently Spain orders culling of 1,00,000 mink after 87% test COVID-19 positive. Now, researchers are trying to know which species can get the virus and they can pass it to people or not. some researchers said that The virus could be spreading undetected in some animals that we don’t know about, so it’s necessary to know which animals can spread the virus. At this time, there is no proof that animals play an important role in spreading the virus that causes COVID-19.

Spain is preparing to cull around 1,00,000 mink, most of the minks are from Aragon, the north-eastern province of Spain. According to the reports, these minks are found positive for COVID 19. results of tests done on 13 July showed that 87% of the mink were infected with the coronavirus as the result of health authorities ordering the culling of all the 92,700 semi-aquatic animals.

Animals that can be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19

We know that cats, dogs, and a few other types of animals can be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, but we don’t yet know all of the animals that can get infected. Let’s have a look at the animal who gets infected with COVID-19.

There have been few reports of animals are being infected with the virus worldwide.

• A small number of pet cats and dogs have been reported to be infected with the virus in various countries, including the USA. Most of these pets became unwell after contact with people with COVID-19.
• Several lions and tiger at a New York zoo tested positive for COVID-19 after showing signs of respiratory illness. Public health officials believe these large cats became sick after being exposed to a zoo employee who was infected with COVID-19. All these animals are fully recovered now.
• Covid-19 was recently discovered in mink (closely related to ferrets) on multiple farms in the Netherlands. The mink showed respiratory and gastrointestinal signs; the farms experienced an increase in mink deaths. Because some workers on these farms had symptoms of COVID-19, infected farm workers were likely the source of mink infections. Some farm cats on several mink farms also developed antibodies to this virus, Officials in the Netherlands are observing the connections between the health of people and animals as well as the environment on these mink farms.
• Recently in Spain minks are found positive for COVID 19, Spain is preparing to cull around 1,00,000 mink, most of the minks are from Aragon, the north-eastern province of Spain, 87% of the mink were infected with the coronavirus as the result of health authorities ordering the culling of all the 92,700 semi-aquatic animals.

According to the WHO, It is not possible to know the source of the virus, it most likely originated in bats. However, more research needs to be conducted to determine how the virus potentially spreads from animals to humans and the roles animals play in the spread of the virus. 

How did people get that the Mink are Covid-19 Positive?

The outbreak in the province started after a farm worker’s wife was tested positive in May. Soon after her husband and six other workers were also tested positive. The farm workers suspected that they had got the virus from the mink that were mating on the farm. After that, the mink were isolated and checked closely. After a series of tests, it was found out that 87% of all mink in the farm had been infected.farm is located around 200 km east of Madrid, one of the most populous cities in Spain. 

Mink are semi-aquatic animals that are bred for their fur. The decision to cull the mink was taken “to avoid the risk of human transmission” Olona also said that it is unclear at this point whether coronavirus can be transferred from humans to animals or vice versa. The Aragon region is one of the major COVID-19 hotspots in Spain. The regional government said that there is “a massive transmission between the mink, so it has been decided to sacrifice all of them”.

Click Here to Register for Bank Exams 2020 Preparation Material

Visit Achieversadda.com and participate in discussions with other aspirants and achievers. Get answers to your queries and connect with others on Achieversadda.com