COVID and animals

The Hong Kong authorities will kill about 2,000 small animals including hamsters, after several tested positive for COVID-19 at a pet store where an employee was also infected, reports said.

This is as lions and pumas at a zoo in South Africa got severe COVID19 from asymptomatic zoo handlers.

Studies carried out by a local university raised concerns that new variants could emerge from animal reservoirs of the disease. They add to evidence that while the dominant theory is that the coronavirus spread from animals to humans, the reverse can also happen.

In November 2020, Denmark culled 17 million minks in response to outbreaks at more than 200 mink farms.