As SARS-CoV2—the virus that causes Covid-19—spreads to zoos in India infecting many inmates and claiming a few of them, the Hyderabad-based Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES) of CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has issued guidelines for Covid-19 tests on the captive animals.
“The guidelines provide detailed protocols that include pictorials and frequently asked questions for an easier understanding of those collecting samples for Covid testing in wildlife,” Vinay K Nandicoori, Director, CSIR-CCMB, said in a statement here.
LaCONES is one of the four designated centres for testing animal samples for possible coronavirus infection. The need for the testing guidelines has been constantly felt as there have been reports of captive animals being infected with the disease.
“We hope that our recommendations help the zoo staff in collecting and packing the samples appropriately before they send out to animal testing centres. It will smoothen the process for the zoos as well as testing centres. Given how difficult it is to get samples from animals it is all the more important that we make most of the samples we get,” said Karthikeyan Vasudevan, scientist-in-charge, LaCONES, CSIR-CCMB.
While cases of animals being infected with Covid-19 have been witnessed in other parts of the globe, in what is believed to be the first known death of an animal in India from the coronavirus-- a nine-year-old lioness at a zoo in Chennai in Tamil Nadu passed away in early June.
At least eight lions were also found positive in Hyderabad's zoo, spread over 300 acres and home to over 1,500 species of animals and birds.
In early June, this year, at least 28 elephants tested for Covid-19 at a forest reserve in southern India after the reported death of a rare Asiatic lion from the virus. The feline was among nine lions that had tested positive for the virus, including two who were in critical condition.
Last year, in April, lions and tigers at the Bronx Zoo in New York City tested positive for the virus. However, all of them recovered. So was with the case of four lions who were tested positive at a zoo in Barcelona last September. Like their counterparts across the globe, they responded well to treatment.
After lions in Vandalur Zoo tested positive for Covid-19, camp elephants in the region also came under scanner. Nasal and anal samples were taken from 28 elephants, including two calves and sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Uttar Pradesh.
In fact, authorities in neighbouring Sri Lankan had sought guidance from India on treating animals contracting Covid-19, after a lion named Thor at a Colombo zoo tested positive.
“We are seeking guidance from the Central Zoo Authority in India in order to treat Thor,” said Ishini Wickremesinghe, Director General of the Department of National Zoological Gardens in a statement.