On Oct. 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service (ARS) announced confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) in a binturong and a fishing cat at a zoo in Illinois. These were the first of either species confirmed with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the U.S.

SARS-CoV-2 infections were reported in a small number of animal species worldwide, mostly in animals that had close contact with a person with COVID-19.