Hyderabad: In the first reported case, eight Asiatic lions living in the Hyderabad zoological park have been found infected with COVID-19. Rakesh Mishra, consultant at the CSIR-Cellular and Molecular Biology Center (CCMB) here, said on Tuesday that saliva samples of lions were thoroughly tested at the premier research institute.
Mishra told, “The saliva samples of Asiatic lions were thoroughly tested and found to be infected. They live close by, so the infection must have spread in them. “
He explained, “We are now developing a method to examine their faeces samples. This method will be useful in the future, because it is not possible to sample the saliva of a wild animal every time. ”
Mishra said that the virus found in the lions of Nehru zoological park is not of new form. “They have mild symptoms and they are eating well and they are fine,” he said.
Replying to a question, Mishra said that animals are likely to be infected as they are mammals like humans. A senior zoologist official said that they periodically send animal samples to CCMB for analysis. Zoological officials said that lions had fever-like symptoms after which his samples were taken and sent to CCMB.
Officials said that animal samples are taken in two ways, one by means of a squeak cage or by making them unconscious. In the ‘Squeeze Cage’ method, the animal is locked in a tight puddle where there is no space so that they cannot move or resist during sampling.
