The hamsters of Hong Kong offer a cautionary COVID tale

A hamster named "Marshmallow" was dropped off at the New Territories South Animal Management Centre in Hong Kong on Jan. 19 over concerns that the pets were spreading COVID-19 to humans. Thousands of small animals were culled after hamsters tested positive in a pet store.

A new study documents that infected hamsters, imported from the Netherlands, passed the virus on to humans. Previously only minks had been identified as a source of animal-to-human transmission.

(Image credit: Bertha Wang/AFP via Getty Images)


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