Many experts feared that not only humans could be affected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. They have one more reason to worry, as eight gorillas from a safari park tested positive for the coronavirus.
The news comes from NPR.com, which also reveals that some apes from the San Diego Zoo were vaccinated for COVID-19 by veterinarians. Also, the sick gorillas were quarantined and treated while they’re currently recovering.
The apes receive training
Lisa Peterson, who is the San Diego Zoo Safari Park director, declared:
It’s pretty amazing,
Our great apes are trained to participate in their own care.
Luckily enough, the animals show promising signs of recovery, as Peterson also added:
We’re seeing their everyday personalities and vivaciousness coming back, so we’re very excited that we were able to get them through it.
Although animals can get COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that there’s no evidence that they can play a significant role in spreading the coronavirus to humans. However, the health agency admits that more studies are needed to understand how COVID-19 can affect animals. As for the other way around, the virus can be spread from humans to animals in some situations.
Many countries from all over the world are currently unfolding their COVID vaccination program for humans, and according to Bloomberg, a total of over 383 million vaccine doses were administered throughout the world.
Israel is perhaps the country where the COVID-19 vaccination campaign had the greatest success, as almost half of the population was fully vaccinated. A total of over 9.49 million vaccine doses were given in Israel, which is enormous for a population of only about 8.75 million.
