Nine large apes have been given an experimental Covid-19 vaccine at the San Diego Zoo after an outbreak in a troop of gorillas in January.
Five bonobos and four orangutans became the first great apes of an American zoo to receive blows against the disease in January and February.
The animals were given two doses of an experimental vaccine developed by the American veterinary pharmaceutical company Zoetis for use in animals. The vaccine could also be used on minks, cats and dogs if regulations were passed.
Zoetis said the zoo had made an emergency request for vaccines after eight members of the western lowland gorilla troop tested positive for Covid-19 in early 2021, with symptoms such as coughing. , noses and lethargy.
Gorillas are believed to have captured it from an asymptomatic zoo keeper who tested positive for the virus. The zoo said staff wore masks at all times around gorillas. Since then, the troop has fully recovered and the public is allowed to revisit the animals after the restrictions were lifted.
“This made us realize that our other apes were at risk,” Nadine Lamberski, the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s head of wildlife conservation and health, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “We wanted to do everything we could to protect them from this virus because we don’t really know how it will affect them.”
Dogs, cats and mink are among the animals that have tested positive for Covid during the pandemic, but scientists are especially concerned about the spread of the virus to large apes such as gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans.
The Guardian understands that the UK government has no plans to vaccinate primates at zoos and that there have been no reports of Covid-19 infections. The London Zoo said the experimental vaccine was not available in the UK and added that its health team would investigate all avenues to protect its animals.
Amanda Guthrie, head of wildlife services at the London Zoological Society, said: “Guardians take strict precautions to ensure the safety of susceptible animals, including wearing masks and gloves when preparing food and cleaning premises.” .
In March 2020, scientists warned that populations of chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans could be wiped out during the coronavirus pandemic.