It started with a bat. People were probably infected with the corona virus for the first time via another, previously unknown intermediate host. Experts from the World Health Organization consider this scenario to be likely. They are not the only animals that can become infected with Sars-CoV-2, as the current cases in a Hong Kong pet shop show. According to media reports, several hamsters tested positive for the virus there. Now, as a precaution, around 2,000 rodents and other small animals are to be euthanized.
In contrast to classic respiratory diseases, with which only very close relatives of humans from the animal kingdom can be infected, this is not the case with the corona virus. “Unfortunately, this virus does not respect barriers between species as well as most other pathogens,” said microbiologist and veterinarian Fabian Leendertz from the Robert Koch Institute of the German Press Agency.
Gorillas and other corona patients
According to the German Animal Welfare Association, outbreaks on more than 400 mink farms in EU countries were known by mid-May. Millions of animals have been culled in Denmark alone.
Zoo animals, lions, gorillas and pygmy otters have also been infected with the virus. The zoos named nurses who passed the virus on to the animals as the likely source of infection. The hygiene measures have been adjusted accordingly. And even pets are not immune to the virus. For farm animals such as cattle and pigs, on the other hand, the corona risk is currently considered to be very low.
You can find an overview of known corona cases in the animal world in the photo gallery above.