According to Russia Today News on the 11th, at least three gorillas at San Diego Safari Park in California have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, becoming the first case of gorillas infection in the United States and even the world. The gorillas are believed to have been infected by an asymptomatic staff member.
According to the official website of San Diego Safari Park, on January 6th local time, two gorillas began to cough. The zoo immediately began to test the fecal samples of gorillas for the presence of COVID-19.
On January 8, preliminary tests found that the novel coronavirus did exist in the gorillaz population. The USDA National Veterinary Service Laboratory (NVSL) confirmed on the 11th that at least three gorillas tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
, the National Veterinary Service Laboratory (NVSL) said in a statement that they are the first gorillas in the United States to be confirmed to be infected with COVID-19.
On Monday local time, eight gorillas at San Diego Safari Park were tested for nucleic acid again and were under quarantine monitoring.
The zoo said that because gorillas live in a “family way”, it is speculated that all members have been exposed to the virus, and several other orangutans cannot be absolutely excluded from being infected at present.
“Great gorillas are in good condition except for some stuffy noses and coughs.
All gorillas are still in quarantine but can eat and drink water normally.
We have hope that [they] will fully recover.” Lisa Peterson, executive director of San Diego Safari, said.
The zoo said that although it followed all the coronavirus precautions set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the San Diego Public Health Department, and required all staff to wear personal protective equipment when approaching the gorillas, the gorillas are suspected to have been infected by asymptomatic staff.
Russia Today said that although previous studies have confirmed that some non-human primates are vulnerable to COVID-19, this is the first known case of natural transmission to apes so far, and it is not clear whether they will have a serious reaction.
The National Veterinary Service Laboratory said that the spread of the novel coronavirus in wildlife communities is still being studied, but there is “no evidence that animals play an important role in spreading the virus to humans”, adding that the risk is “considered to be extremely low”.
