Authorities in Hong Kong have ordered the destruction of thousands of other hamsters and small mammals across the city after a high-profile suspicion was first of a person who contracted the corona virus after being infected with a hamster.
The focus of the outbreak is at a pet store in Kozwi Bay, Hong Kong’s main commercial area. One of the facts (23) contracted the corona virus this week and tests identified it as the Delta strain, the first case in the city in three months. The main suspicion was that the source of infection was the hamsters sold in the store, as the genetic sequence of the virus discovered matched the genes common in Pakistan and Europe and the hamsters were imported from the Netherlands.
Tests performed on hamsters, chinchillas and rabbits sold in the store identified 11 positive samples of hamsters with the same genetic sequence as the delta strain found in the fact. Due to this, there is a high probability that this is the first case of a hamster infection in the world and the first of transmission of the virus from an animal to a person in Hong Kong.
The virus was also detected in a 67-year-old woman and today it became clear that her husband was also infected. According to authorities, the woman’s daughter bought a hamster at the infected store on January 4 and four days later the woman came to the store to change a cage and purchase food, and it was the sick worker who took money from her.
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In light of the suspicions, it was decided that about 2,000 hamsters would be killed, including the hamsters sold in stores in Hong Kong, and residents were called to bring to hamster authorities purchased since December 22nd. Also, all the rabbits and chinchillas will die in the infected store and its warehouse, even though their tests came out negative. The import and sale of small animals is also prohibited.
Hong Kong Gov. Carrie Lam has expressed concern that the identification of the Delta strain will exacerbate the situation in the city, which is now also facing an increase in Omicron infections. “We are concerned that there is a risk of two variants spreading simultaneously,” she said. “The risk with the pet store is that it’s an animal-related case with more than a dozen branches across Hong Kong.”
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