Lioness dies of Covid-19 at Chennai zoo, eight other lions test positive

According to the officials, the park has around 15 lions (eight female, seven male). The Covid test results of four are awaited.

The lions which have tested positive for Covid-19 till now were part of the two groups present in the safari area. On May 26, these groups of lions had started showing symptoms of nasal discharge, fever, and some of them had even showed anorexia (loss of appetite) and had occasional coughing as well.

The in-house veterinary team of the AAZP had taken immediate action to provide a team and later experts from the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) were deputed to join the zoo officials in investigating and deciding the future course of the treatment regimen.

Blood samples were sent to TANUVAS and nasal swab, rectal swab and faecal samples of 11 lions were sent to the National Institute of High Security Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, one of the four designated institutes authorized to take up SARS CoV-2 testing in captive animals.

“As per the laboratory test results furnished by the Institute, 11 of the 15 lions were found to be infected by Covid-19. To ascertain whether or not the reported findings are like false positives or the animal could have died of comorbidities, samples have also been sent on June 4 to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute Bareilly and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad,” the release added.

Speaking to indianexpress.com, a senior official from the zoological park said it is very difficult to ascertain how the virus spread to the animals.

“We have a set of guidelines and we are following it meticulously. There are only two ways this could have happened, either through the animal caretaker or the feed we are providing to the animals. From the feeding perspective, people who are engaged in the distribution of meat are all vaccinated and regular RT-PCR tests are conducted for all staff. The feed itself is irradiated in the ultraviolet room. PPE kits are mandatory for animal keepers who are allowed to enter the field area so till now we are not able to find out the cause of the spread,” he said.

The official added that collecting the samples from the animals has been difficult because they wanted to take the sample without giving sedation as it would compromise the immunity of the animal.

“We are collecting samples through physical restraint. All the lions tested positive are under close observation and on a prescribed treatment regimen by experts. The nine lions which tested positive include a 23-year-old and a 19-year-old. We are a bit concerned about their health as they are old. We have also sent the samples of other big cats like tiger, leopard even though they didn’t show any symptoms.”