Daijiworld Media Network - Kasargod (SP)

Kasargod, Apr 12: Reports of a few pet animals in differetn countries and a tiger at Bronx Zoo in New York having developed coronavirus infection has given rise to new worries during the recent days as animals were allowed to be fondled and played with by coronavirus patients as well as family members as no risk factor was perceived till recently.

Five cats which lived in the coronavirus ward of the district hospital here have died under mysterious circumstances.

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Kasargod district with 120 confirmed coronavirus cases, has emerged as one of the hotspots of Kerala. The death of cats has come as a shock. Three among the cats were adult, and one among the adults was female. Two were kittens. It is now being suspected that these cats would also have contracted the said infection. For testing, viscera samples of the dead cats have been sent to the veterinary disease detection laboratory at Thiruvananthapuram.

Dr Tito Joseph,Animal Disease Control Project Coordinator here, said that if the laboratory at Thiruvananthapuram fails to reach to a clear conclusion, the samples will be sent to the National High Security Animal Diseases Laboratory at Bhopal.

District animal husbandry officer, Dr Unnikrishnan, said that district collector, DR D Sajith Babu, had received complaints about the movement of cats in corona ward at the ditsrict hospital and that they were spreading filth everywhere. As per his instructions, the cats were caught and confined to a cage under the supervision of the animal husbandry department. They were being fed there, he added. He clarified that those who caught hold of these cats were wearing personal protection equipment at the time.