Atlanta: Some members of the West Low-Plain Gorilla in the Atlanta Zoo have tested the positive Coronavirus after handling watching many large apes show signs of light cough, runny nose and loss of appetite, the zoo said on Friday.
Animal handlers Zoo Atlanta collected samples of stools and nasal and oral sweats of gorillas and sent samples to diagnostic laboratories at the University of Georgia, which returned the positive results of alleged for the virus which caused Covid-19, said an Atlanta zoo said.
The zoo added that it was awaiting confirmation of the test results from the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, who also received samples.
The statement did not say how many gorillas appeared to be infected, but the Journal of Atlanta’s constitution reported 13 gorillas had tested the positive virus.
The statement of the zoo said his team collected samples for testing from all the population of the zoo gorilla, which numbered 20 members living in four troops.
Atlanta’s constitutional reports said members of each of the four troops showed evidence of infection.
The newspaper report said it was possible that the virus entered the gorilla population from an asimptomatic animal care staff after coming to work, but which then tested the virus positive.