Press pause on that episode of “Tiger King.”

Nadia, a Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo, has tested positive for COVID-19, zoo staff announced Sunday.

Nadia’s case is the first known instance of an infection of an animal in the United States.

The tiger was infected by a staff member carrying the virus who was asymptomatic at the time, the zoo said in a statement.

“We tested the cat out of an abundance of caution and will ensure any knowledge we gain about COVID-19 will contribute to the world’s continuing understanding of this novel coronavirus,” staff said in the announcement.

Nadia is likely not the only animal affected, though she is so far the only one to receive a positive test result. The tiger has a dry cough. So does her sister, Azul, as well as two Amur tigers and three African lions. The big cats have also shown a decrease in appetite.

You cannot send human samples to the veterinary laboratory, and you cannot send animal tests to the human laboratories, so there is no competition for testing between these very different situations." — Bronx Zoo (@BronxZoo) April 6, 2020

“It is not known how this disease will develop in big cats since different species can react differently to novel infections, but we will continue to monitor them closely and anticipate full recoveries,” the zoo said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, confirmed the test result for the 4-year-old tiger.

Affected tigers live in the Bronx Zoo’s Tiger Mountain exhibit, where other tigers have not shown symptoms.

The announcement said all of the tigers and lions are under veterinary care and remain “bright, alert, and interactive with their keepers.”

The zoo, which is run by the Wildlife Conservation Society, has been closed since March 16 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A dog in Hong Kong tested a weak positive for the coronavirus disease in February. There is no evidence that dogs or other animals can transmit the coronavirus disease to people beyond the first transmission of the virus, which is believed to have occurred at a live animal market in Wuhan, China.

After people on social media began wondering how a tiger could get a coronavirus test over humans, the zoo shared a statement from its chief veterinarian, Dr. Paul Calle.

“The COVID-19 testing that was performed on our Malayan tiger Nadia was performed in a veterinary school laboratory and is not the same test as is used for people,” he said. “You cannot send human samples to the veterinary laboratory, and you cannot send animal tests to the human laboratories, so there is no competition for testing between these very different situations."

Have a tip? Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.

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