米ＮＹ動物園のトラが新型コロナ陽性、無症状の飼育員から感染か

【ニューヨークＡＦＰ＝時事】米ニューヨークのブロンクス動物園は5日、同園で飼育されているトラ1頭に新型コロナウイルスの陽性反応が出たと発表した。無症状感染者の飼育員から感染したとみられるという。（写真はブロンクス動物園のトラ、ナディア）
　ウイルス陽性反応が出たのは、４歳の雌のマレートラ「ナディア」で、きょうだいの「アズール」やアムールトラ２頭、アフリカライオン３頭と共に、乾いたせきの症状を見せていた。ブロンクス動物園を運営する米自然保護団体「野生動物保護協会」によると、いずれの動物も食欲が減退しているほかは元気で、完全回復する見込み。
　動物園側は、新型コロナウイルス感染症（ＣＯＶＩＤ-１９）が「大型ネコ科動物にどのような影響を及ぼすかは不明だ。新しい病気に対し、異なる種は異なる反応を示す」と述べ、ナディアらの経過観察を続け、得られた知見のすべてを新型ウイルスの全容解明に取り組む世界と共有することを約束した。
　その上で、「（中国の）武漢の市場で最初に起きた以外に、動物がＣＯＶＩＤ-１９の伝染に関与した証拠はない。また、米国ではペットの犬や猫も含めて、動物から人にＣＯＶＩＤ-１９が伝染したという証拠は一切ない」と強調した。
　ニューヨーク市内には動物園と水族館が合わせて４施設あるが、すべて先月１６日から休園している。
　動物への感染はこれまで、３月下旬にペットのネコへの感染がベルギーで分かっている他、香港でもペットの犬２匹の陽性が判明している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/04/06-13:32）

A tiger at New York's Bronx Zoo has tested positive for COVID-19, the institution said Sunday, and is believed to have contracted the virus from a caretaker who was asymptomatic at the time.
The four-year-old Malayan tiger named Nadia along with her sister Azul, two Amur tigers and three African lions all developed dry coughs and are expected to fully recover, the Wildlife Conservation Society that runs the city's zoos said in a statement.
We tested the cat out of an abundance of caution and will ensure any knowledge we gain about COVID-19 will contribute to the world's continuing understanding of this novel coronavirus, the statement sent to AFP said.
Though they have experienced some decrease in appetite, the cats at the Bronx Zoo are otherwise doing well under veterinary care and are bright, alert, and interactive with their keepers, the statement continued.
It is not known how this disease will develop in big cats since different species can react differently to novel infections, but we will continue to monitor them closely and anticipate full recoveries.
All four of the zoos and the aquarium in New York -- whose virus death toll has topped 4,000 -- have been closed since March 16.
The zoo emphasized that there is no evidence that animals play a role in the transmission of COVID-19 to people other than the initial event in the Wuhan market, and no evidence that any person has been infected with COVID-19 in the US by animals, including by pet dogs or cats.
Chinese disease control officials had identified wild animals sold in a Wuhan market as the source of the coronavirus pandemic that has infected well over one million people worldwide.
According to the US Department of Agriculture website there had not been reports of pets or other animals in the United States falling ill with coronavirus prior to news of the tiger Nadia.
It is still recommended that people sick with COVID-19 limit contact with animals until more information is known about the virus, the department's website says.
In late March a pet cat was discovered infected with the novel coronavirus in Belgium, following similar cases in Hong Kong where two dogs tested positive for COVID-19.
All of those animals are believed to have contracted the virus from the people they live with.
The Bronx zoo said preventative measures were in place for caretakers as well as all cats in the city's zoos.