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2 Pittsburgh zoo tigers test positive for covid as zoo awaits vaccines | TribLIVE.com
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2 Pittsburgh zoo tigers test positive for covid as zoo awaits vaccines

Megan Guza
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Tribune-Review
Amur tigers at the Pittsburgh zoo are shown in this Tribune-Review file photo.

Two tigers at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium have tested positive for covid-19, officials said Monday as the Highland Park facility remained on a waiting list for specialty vaccines developed specifically for animals.

The tigers were tested via nasal swab after they started showing symptoms, including “occasional coughing and loose stool,” officials said. The cats are eating normally and expected to recover.

Zoo President Jeremy Goodman said no visitors are allowed to get close to the tigers, meaning the risk of transmission to patrons “is very low.”

He said the tigers likely contracted the virus from an asymptomatic zoo employee. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that the risk of animals spreading the virus to people is low.

A Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo became the first zoo animal in the United States known to have contracted the virus. Six other big cats – three tigers and three African lions – also tested positive. All have recovered.

Earlier this year, two female lions in Pittsburgh tested positive for the virus and have since recovered. Zoo officials said there have been no virus-related fatalities among tigers in the United States. Two lions in India died in June after contracting the virus.

Zoos across the country have begun vaccinating their animals with doses developed by animal health company Zoetis. The company in July donated around 11,000 doses to 70 zoos nationwide.

The company, based in Kalamazoo, Mich., is a former subsidiary of Pfizer. Zoetis became its own company in 2013.

“When the first dog was infected with covid-19 in Hong Kong last year, we immediately began to work on a vaccine that could be used in domestic animals,” Mahesh Kumar, a senior official in the company’s global biologics section, said in a July news release announcing the donations. “While thankfully a covid-19 vaccine is not needed in pets or livestock at this time, we are proud that our work can help zoo animals at risk of covid-19.”

Across the country, thousands of zoo animals have been vaccinated against covid. At the Oakland Zoo in California, the large exotic cats – lions, tigers and mountain lions – have been vaccinated. The Washington Post reported that the cats were rewarded with goat’s milk. Bears in Oakland got ice cream and whipped cream, and officials gave a chimp marshmallows and M&Ms to get her to stay still, the newspaper said.

The Post reported in October that Zoetis was planning a second shipment of vaccines “in the coming weeks.” Those vaccines were earmarked for mammals that veterinarians and zoo keepers think are most at risk, including primates, big cats and canines, bears and more.

Shipments of the experimental vaccine must be approved on a case-by-case basis by the USDA and the state veterinarian where the zoo is located, according to National Geographic.

Until the Pittsburgh zoo receives the vaccine, officials are closely monitoring the ill tigers and other large mammals susceptible to the virus.

“We are taking this situation seriously and are continuing to provide the best care possible to our tigers,” Goodman said.

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Categories: Coronavirus | Highland Park | Local | Pittsburgh | Top Stories
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