Animals can also be infected with COVID-19, and because of the chain reaction brought about by the COVID-19 epidemic, the environment they usually live in has undergone tremendous changes.
Animals around the world have been infected with COVID-19
Last weekend, CNN quoted the Atlanta Zoo’s official website statement saying that 13 West African lowland gorillas in the park were infected with the COVID-19 virus.
Zoo employees discovered that some of the orangutans had symptoms of coughing, runny nose and low appetite, and then tested these animals for the COVID-19 virus. After analyzing the samples collected by the Athens Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory of the University of Georgia, the results were positive, proving that these orangutans did indeed suffer from COVID-19.
Animals under the COVID-19 epidemic: Animals around the world have been infected one after another, and they are starting to attack humans very hungry. The press release stated that the affected gorillas are being quarantined and receiving monoclonal antibody treatment. The zoo has collected samples from the entire gorilla population for testing, and plans to continue testing other animals in batches on a regular basis.
Zoo officials said they did not know how the gorillas were infected. It is inferred that the virus may have been transmitted to animals by a vaccinated, asymptomatic COVID-19-positive employee, but all staff wear personal protective equipment (PPE) when in contact with animals, which is a standard procedure.
Just yesterday, the National Center for Zoonoses in Mongolia (NCZD) stated that at least seven beavers in Mongolia have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
Animals under the COVID-19 epidemic: Animals all over the world have been infected one after another, and they are starting to attack humans when they are extremely hungry. Xinhua News Agency quoted the director of the center Nyamdorj Tsogbadrakh as saying: "There is work at the Beaver Breeding Center of the Ministry of Environment in Ulaanbaatar, the capital. The personnel tested positive for COVID-19 in August. After that, we found the Delta variant virus in seven beavers."
He said the infected beavers showed symptoms such as coughing, runny nose, and sticky eyes, but the animals have recovered.
This is also the first time that the COVID-19 virus has been detected in an animal in Mongolia.
In India, a report from "India Today" on May 4 said that samples of 8 lions from Hyderabad Nehru Zoo tested positive after being sent to the Center for Cell and Molecular Biology (CCMB). The lions have obvious symptoms of COVID-19, including fever and runny nose.
In January this year, a 21-year-old tiger tested positive for the COVID-19 virus at the Pine County Wildlife Park in Minnesota, USA. Previously, a domestic cat was found to be infected with the COVID-19 virus in the state in June 2020.
At present, according to incomplete statistics, 8 species of animals have been confirmed to be infected with the COVID-19 virus, namely domestic cats, dogs, tigers, lions, minks, snow leopards, gorillas, and beavers.
However, according to an expert from the Athens Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory of the University of Georgia: "Although humans are known to be able to transmit the virus to animals such as gorillas, there is currently no data showing that animals can transmit the virus to humans."
Hungry animals begin to attack humans
Like the human world, the COVID-19 virus not only directly harms animals, but also changes the environment in which they live.
According to the "Guardian" report, due to the COVID-19 epidemic, Thailand's tourists have plummeted, and monkeys who have not been fed are vying for food due to hunger. In Lopburi, central Thailand, two groups of monkeys started a gang fight. According to a passing citizen, “Many monkeys stood together, seeming to be arguing very fiercely, and finally grinned and killed them together. The confrontation lasted for about 4 minutes, and all the passing vehicles were squeezed at the intersection and could not move.”
Animals under the COVID-19 epidemic: Animals all over the world have been infected one after another, and they are very hungry and start attacking humans. Thai monkeys fighting for food
In the tourist resort of Bali, the Associated Press reported in early September that locals were attacked by hungry monkeys.
Generally speaking, the jungle reserve on the resort island of Bali is very popular with international tourists, and monkeys can easily get a steady stream of food from tourists. However, since the second outbreak of the epidemic in Indonesia in July, all foreign tourists were banned from entering the island, food-scarce monkeys have begun to attack villagers’ houses and search for good food.
According to local villagers, these gray long-tailed macaques kept running out of the protected area about 500 meters away from the village, wandering on their roofs, rushing down to snatch food from people when they had the opportunity, and rushing in if they were bold. Find food in the house.
Fearing that hunger will make the monkeys fierce, leading to full-scale attacks on the village by the monkeys, the local residents have been bringing fruits, peanuts and other food to the monkey forest to feed them to comfort these hungry animals.
Animals under the COVID-19 epidemic: Animals all over the world have been infected one after another, and they are very hungry and start to attack humans. Local villagers feed food to comfort the monkeys
Tourism is the main source of income for the 4 million residents of Bali. Before the COVID-19 epidemic, Bali welcomed more than 5 million foreign tourists every year. In the current situation, this not only means that no one brings extra food for the monkeys, but the reserve has no source of income, and there is not much money left to buy food for the monkeys. The epidemic seems to be far from over.
COVID-19 derivatives are also affecting animals
Although the main target of the COVID-19 virus infection is humans, a series of chain reactions brought about by the epidemic are also affecting animals, and they are likely to be long-term.
According to the BBC report, a new study published in Animal Biology pointed out that the large amount of personal protective equipment waste (mainly masks) generated by the COVID-19 epidemic is seriously threatening the safety of wildlife, and this impact will continue. Decades.
During the COVID-19 epidemic, masks played a huge protective role. According to research statistics, the number of masks used every minute in the world is estimated to be as high as 3 million. In the past year alone, more than 1.5 billion masks were washed into the ocean.
Once wild animals are entangled in these rubbish or eaten by mistake, they are likely to endanger their lives. A mask was found in the belly of a dead Magellanic penguin on a Brazilian beach, and domestic animals like cats and dogs have similar records.
The United Nations Environment Program "UNEP Frontier: 2016 Emerging Environmental Issues Report" pointed out that since the 21st century, several zoonotic diseases, including Ebola virus, avian influenza, Rift Valley fever, West Nile virus and Zika virus, have been Cause, or almost cause, a global pandemic. According to the report, the direct losses caused by these emerging diseases have exceeded 100 billion U.S. dollars.
At present, in the face of the global pandemic of COVID-19, there is no evidence that there is an outbreak of COVID-19 among wild animals. But if wild animals can also transmit COVID-19 to each other, the consequences will be disastrous. How to deal with COVID-19 and the relationship between animals and humans may be an important proposition in the post-epidemic era.
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