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Four lions in a Barcelona zoo tested positive for COVID-19, authorities said.
Three 16-year-old women, named Zala, Nima, and Run Run, and Kiumbe, a four-year-old boy, were examined after caregivers noted they showed mild symptoms of the disease.
They suffer from very mild flu-like symptoms, with no signs of shortness of breath and have been treated with anti-inflammatories, El País said.
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One of the lionesses that caught COVID-19. Photo: Barcelona Zoo
This is the second time that big cats in a zoo have been known to contract coronavirus, the first at the Bronx Zoo in New York, where four tigers and three lions tested positive in April.
All animals recovered.
The Veterinary Service of Barcelona contacted colleagues in New York for advice on dealing with the outbreak.
Keepers carried out PCR tests on lions in the same way as humans, as the animals are used to having contact with zoo staff, two of whom tested positive for coronavirus last month.
According to El País, the Barcelona Zoo staff worked with the lions, but the zoo has not confirmed this and the authorities have launched an investigation into how the animals were infected.
The Barcelona Zoo said in a statement: “The zoo has contacted and collaborated with international experts such as the Bronx Zoo Veterinary Service, the only one that has documented cases of Sars-CoV-2 infection in felines.
“The lions received veterinary care for their mild clinical condition, similar to a very mild flu condition, through anti-inflammatory treatment and close surveillance, and the animals responded well.”
The lions have had no contact with other animals at the zoo, which is open to visitors.
