Several orangutans and bonobos at the San Diego Zoo have received an experimental COVID-19 vaccine developed specifically for animals. They are the first known non-human primates to get the chance.
An orangutan named Karen, who made history in 1994 as the first monkey in the world to have open heart surgery, was among those who had to get the vaccine, according to National Geographic.
Last month, Karen along with three other orangutans and five bonobos at the zoo took two doses each of the vaccine, developed by the veterinary pharmaceutical company Zoetis.
“This is not the norm. In my career I have not had access to an experimental vaccine so early in the process and I have not had such an overwhelming desire to want to use one,” says Nadine Lamberski, main conservation and wildlife. health officer at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, told Nat Geo.
Brent Stirton, Getty Images for National Geographic
In January, eight gorillas in the zoo became the first great apes in the world test positive for coronavirus. They are recovering now.
Infections have also been confirmed in dogs, cats, mink, tierelions and several other animals around the world. Great apes, however, are of particular concern to conservationists.
All species of gorillas are listed on the IUCN Red List as endangered or critically endangered, with “susceptibility to disease” being one of the major threats. Infections spread rapidly among the animals, living in close-knit family groups.
COVID-19 has the potential to wipe out populations of gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans and bonobos if humans do not take steps to prevent it from spreading. warned.
Zoetis started developing a COVID-19 vaccine for dogs and cats after the first dog tested positive for the virus more than a year ago in Hong Kong. It is considered safe and effective in October, but the tests were only done on dogs and cats.
Still, Lamberski decided to vaccinate the great apes is worth it. She told National Geographic that they had no adverse reactions and that they would soon be tested on antibodies to determine if the shots were successful.
Brent Stirton, Getty Images for National Geographic
“It’s not like we’re randomly grabbing a vaccine and giving it to a new species,” she said. “There is a lot of thinking and research – what is the risk of doing it and what is the risk of not doing it? Above all, our motto is not to do any harm.”
Lamberski said that because vaccines are made for a specific pathogen and not for a specific species, it is common to give a vaccine intended for one species to another. Monkeys in the zoo get vaccinated against flu and measles developed for humans.
A Zoetis spokesman told National Geographic that other zoos in the U.S. had requested doses of the vaccine for their own great apes. The company expects more to be available in June.
In addition, the company is currently testing the vaccine in mink, of which tens of thousands due to COVID-19.