SARS-CoV-2 Outbreak among Malayan Tigers and Humans, Tennessee, USA, 2020
Heather N. Grome, Becky Meyer, Erin Read, Martha Buchanan, Andrew Cushing, Kaitlin Sawatzki, Kara J. Levinson, Linda Thomas, Zachary Perry, Anna Uehara, Ying Tao, Krista Queen, Suxiang Tong, Ria R. Ghai, Mary‐Margaret A. Fill, Timothy F. Jones, William Schaffner, John Dunn
Abstract
I n October 2020, the Tennessee Department of Health (Nashville, Tennessee, USA) was notified of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in 3 Malayan tigers (Panthera tigris jacksoni) at a zoo in the state. Felids, including domestic cats and exotic big cats, have greater susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection than other species (1-4). Infected domestic cats can transmit the virus to other cats via respiratory droplets or direct contact (4-6). However, the risk for cat-to-human transmission remains unclear. We investigated the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Tennessee to determine its source and provide recommendations to control the spread of infection.