13 gorillas test positive for COVID at US' Atlanta Zoo; symptoms include cough, runny nose

At a time the coronavirus contagion continues to disrupt life in the USA, it has come to light that COVID-19 can spread to and be equally lethal for animals. In a major development, Atlanta Zoo said that 13 western lowland gorillas tested positive for COVID. Not only did the lethal virus engulf the young ones, but also 60-year-old Ozzie, the oldest male gorilla in captivity was also infected. It should be mentioned that the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had previously warned that many mammals including minks and dogs could be infected with the 2019 coronavirus. 

According to the Associated Press, the respiratory infection was detected by zoo employees after they found some of the gorillas coughing and experiencing changes in appetite and a runny nose. They then took the mammals for a coronavirus test at a vet lab in Georgia, where they were tested positive for the coronavirus. However, the Atlanta Zoo is still waiting for results from National Veterinary Services in Iowa.

“We are very concerned that these infections occurred, especially given that our safety protocols when working with great apes and other susceptible animal species are, and throughout the pandemic have been, extremely rigorous,” Dr Sam Rivera, the zoo's senior director of animal health, said in a statement.

Infection came from asymptomatic caretaker

Atlanta Zoo officials said that they believe that the infection was passed on to the gorillas from an asymptomatic caretaker who was in continuous contact with them. While there is no proven evidence that the giant mammals could transmit it back to humans, visitors are being kept away from them as a precautionary measure. Notably, the zoo is testing all 20 gorillas that live there in four troops. 

Earlier, a different type of coronavirus infection, which is believed to have originated in dogs, was detected in Malaysian patients hospitalised with pneumonia in 2017-2018. As per a study, published in the Clinical Infectious Diseases journal, the new canine coronavirus shared characteristics of other coronaviruses known to have infected cats and pig but was mostly similar to one that is known to have infected dogs. The strain has not been confirmed as a discreet pathogen as of now, but if it does, it would mark the eighth coronavirus known to infect humans.

While the 2019 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is still mutating and infecting lakhs of individuals every day, this study, researchers touted, highlights the threats of animal coronavirus. They said that their findings indicated that the canine virus recently jumped from animals to humans, but stressed that more studies were needed to determine whether it can be transmitted between people.

(With inputs from AP, Image: Unsplash/Pixabay)