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.
Because unlike classic respiratory diseases, which only very close relatives of humans from the animal kingdom can be infected with, this is not the case with the coronavirus. “Unfortunately, this virus does not respect barriers between species as well as most other pathogens,” said the microbiologist and veterinarian Fabian Leendertz from the Robert Koch Institute of the German Press Agency.
Gorillas and other corona patients
The largest number of animal cases in Europe that have been documented to date are likely to have occurred on fur farms: 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 were slaughtered in Denmark alone.
Zoo animals, lions, gorillas and dwarf otters have also contracted the virus. The zoos named keepers who passed the virus on to the animals as the likely source of infection. The hygiene measures have been adapted accordingly. And even pets are not immune from the virus. For farm animals such as cattle and pigs, on the other hand, the corona risk is currently assessed to be very low.
You can find an overview of known corona cases in the animal world in the photo gallery above.
