Endangered Pangolin found in Odisha quarantine centre; to be tested for COVID-19

A female pangolin was rescued from a COVID-19 quarantine centre in Odisha's Athagarh area by forest department officials on Tuesday. The pangolin will now be tested for Coronavirus, and its swab sample will be sent to a lab. If found negative, the animal would be released back in the wild. 

Sasmita Lenka, District Forest Officer (DFO), Athagarh while speaking to news agency ANI said, "As the pangolin was rescued from a quarantine centre in the area, we have decided to send its swab for COVID-19 test. The test will be conducted with the help of the Centre for Wildlife Health (CWH) at OUAT Bhubaneswar."

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"Before releasing the pangolin, we will do its complete health check-up in order to ensure that the animal is fit to be released in the wild," she added. Sasmita stated that an investigation is also being conducted to understand how a pangolin which is an endangered species reached the quarantine centre. 

Dr Niranajn Sahoo, head of the Department of Preventive Medicine OUAT Bhubaneswar, revealed that the swab sample of the pangolin will be sent to a lab where human tests are being conducted. "As CWH doesn't have the facility for this test and we also do not have authorised permit from the government to conduct a COVID-19 test, the swab of the Pangolin will be sent to the laboratory in Bhubaneswar where the tests on people are being conducted," he said.

Listed as endangered, using pangolins for commercial purposes is an unlawful act under the Wildlife Protection Act. Earlier, when the COVID-19 infection had started spreading in Wuhan, there were some reports which claimed pangolins to be hosts for the virus just like bats.

A total of 1,517 coronavirus cases have been reported in Odisha so far. Seven people have succumbed to the disease.

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(With Agency Inputs)