Hong Kong study confirms world’s first known hamster-to-human coronavirus transmissions

The study, run as a preprint by The Lancet, determined there were two separate hamster-to-human transmissions, and that the pets contracted Covid-19 before arriving in the city

Suspicions of hamster-to-human transmissions had prompted a massive cull of the rodents, sparking an outcry from animal lovers

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The study determined that there were two separate hamster-to-human transmissions involving the Delta variant. Photo: Facebook

Published: 2:20pm, 29 Jan 2022Updated: 10:10pm, 29 Jan 2022

A Hong Kong study has confirmed the world’s first known instances of hamster-to-human transmission of the coronavirus, tying them to a cluster of Delta cases linked to local pet shops that sparked a controversial cull of thousands of the rodents.

The study, which has not been peer-reviewed, and was run as a preprint by the medical journal The Lancet on Saturday, determined that there were two separate hamster-to-human transmissions involving the Delta variant, and that the pets had contracted Covid-19 before being imported into the city.

Researchers found that the hamsters were infected on or around November 21 last year, about a month before they arrived in Hong Kong.

“Importation of infected hamsters was the most likely source of virus infection,” the study concluded.

The study was conducted by a team of medical scientists with the University of Hong Kong after the government and health experts announced the unprecedented suspected hamster-to-human transmissions at the Little Boss pet shop in Causeway Bay about 10 days ago.