SAN DIEGO (AP) – Several gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park have tested positive for the coronavirus in what is believed to be the first known cases among such primates in the United States and possibly the world.
The park’s executive director, Lisa Peterson, told The Associated Press on Monday that eight gorillas living together in the park apparently have the virus, and that several people are coughing.
It appears that the infection came from a member of the park’s wildlife care team who also tested positive for the virus, but was asymptomatic and always wore a mask around the gorillas. The park has been closed to the public since Dec. 6 as part of California’s closure efforts to curb coronavirus cases.
Veterinarians are keeping a close eye on the gorillas and they will stay in their park in northern San Diego, Peterson said. They are currently receiving vitamins, fluids and food, but no specific treatment for the virus.
“Apart from congestion and coughing, the gorillas are doing well,” Peterson said.
While other wildlife contracted the coronavirus from minks to tigers, this is the first known case of transmission to great apes, and it is unknown if they will have severe reaction.
Physicists have expressed concern about the coronavirus that infects gorillas, an endangered species that shares 98.4 percent of their DNA with humans and is naturally social animals.
The gorillas infected in the San Diego Safari Park are western lowland gorillas, whose population has declined by more than 60% over the past two decades due to poaching and disease, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
The safari park tested feces of the gorillas after two monkeys started coughing on January 6th. Positive test results were confirmed in three gorillas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Laboratories. Feces from all eight in the gang are taken for testing.
Zoo officials talk to experts who treat the coronavirus in humans in case the animals develop worse symptoms. They will stay together as separating them can be detrimental to the gorillas living in close-knit groups.
“It’s wildlife, and they have their own resilience and can heal differently than us,” Peterson said.
The safari park on Monday added more safety measures to its staff, including requiring face shields and goggles when working in contact with the animals.
Officials said the confirmation that gorillas are susceptible to the coronavirus contributes to information on how the pandemic could affect these species in their natural habitat where they come into contact with humans and human materials.
San Diego Zoo Safari Park plans to share with health officials, conservationists and scientists he is learning to develop steps to protect gorillas in the forests of Africa.