Tigers catch Covid-19 from a a zoo employee?

PITTSBURGH, PA — Two tigers at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium have tested positive for COVID-19.

The tigers started displaying signs such as occasional coughing but have otherwise been in good condition. They are expected to fully recover.

The tigers likely were exposed to the virus by an asymptomatic zoo employee, the zoo stated in a news release.

https://patch.com/pennsylvania/pittsburgh/pittsburgh-zoo-tigers-contract-covid-19?

MOSCOW, December 6. /TASS/. Specificities of mutation of the novel Omicron coronavirus strain can evidence that its mutation had occurred in a population of large animals and then passed to human beings, founder and chief executive of DNKOM research center Andrei Isaev told TASS.

"We know that an individual with immunodeficiency, chronically ill with HIV and also having chronic COVID, is deemed to be the index patient with Omicron. The assumption is that COVID-19 mutated in his body. My theory is somewhat different. We know mammals, including large cats; various species of deer and mint suffer from the coronavirus. People in South Africa contact the wildlife quietly closely. I believe COVID-19 goes to populations of large mammals and evolves there. This is exactly because species hopping of viruses cause the most distinct differences in combinatorial sets of proteins and form genetic diversity," Isaev said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) earlier designated the coronavirus strain B.1.1.529 found in Southern Africa as Omicron. This strain has a large number of mutations, with some of them of concern for WHO because they may affect efficiency of vaccines.

https://tass.com/world/1371107

In a study that has to be peer-reviewed, Kuchipudi stated that an international team which he led recently revealed that there are extensive infections by SARS-CoV-2 in free-living and caged white-tailed deer in the United States.

Amid the surge of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, scientists have speculated that the unusual number of mutations on the Omicron's spike protein might indicate some amount of animal transmission since the coronavirus has been known to transmit to dogs, cats, mink, deer, as well as other animals.

Dr. Jonathan Runstadler, professor and head of the department of infectious disease and global health of Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine stated, "If the virus moves into an animal host and is transmitted and widespread in that animal host, it has a new opportunity to change," as per Boston Herald.

https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/us-news/omicron-scientists-reveal-how-new-covid-19-variant-might-have-transmitted-from-animals.html

People can spread SARS-CoV-2 to animals, especially during close contact.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses. Some coronaviruses cause cold-like illnesses in people, while others cause illness in certain types of animals, such as cattle, camels, and bats. Some coronaviruses, such as canine and feline coronaviruses, infect only animals and do not infect people.

At this time, there is no evidence that animals play a significant role in spreading SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to people. More studies are needed to understand if and how different animals could be affected by SARS-CoV-2.

Some coronaviruses that infect animals can be spread to people and then spread between people, but this is rare. This is what happened with SARS-CoV-2, which likely originated in bats.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/animals.html

Coronaviruses (CoVs), enveloped positive-sense RNA viruses, are characterized by club-like spikes that project from their surface, an unusually large RNA genome, and a unique replication strategy. Coronaviruses cause a variety of diseases in mammals and birds ranging from enteritis in cows and pigs and upper respiratory disease in chickens to potentially lethal human respiratory infections. Here we provide a brief introduction to coronaviruses discussing their replication and pathogenicity, and current prevention and treatment strategies. We also discuss the outbreaks of the highly pathogenic Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and the recently identified Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4369385/