All 20 gorillas at Atlanta zoo are tested for COVID after several get sick with virus
Several gorillas with coughs and runny noses recently tested positive for COVID-19 at a Georgia zoo.
Zoo Atlanta said Friday that keepers noticed the gorillas were coughing and had “nasal discharge” and changes in their appetites. The zoo’s veterinary teams immediately sent “fecal samples and nasal and oral swab samples” from the gorillas to Athens Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Georgia.
The samples came back “presumptively positive” for the coronavirus.
“Zoo Atlanta is waiting to receive the results of the confirmatory tests on samples sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa,” the zoo said.
The gorillas “at risk of developing complications” from COVID-19 are being treated with monoclonal antibodies, the zoo said. Veterinary teams are also collecting samples to test all 20 of the zoo’s gorillas — which live in four different troops — for the coronavirus. They will be tested regularly regardless of whether they have symptoms of the virus.
The zoo wrote in a Facebook comment that it’s assuming all members of the four troops were exposed to the virus and that they are closely monitoring them all.
The zoo is not certain how the gorillas contracted COVID-19, but veterinary teams believe the “infections originated with a COVID-positive care team member” who was fully vaccinated, wearing personal protective equipment and asymptomatic while at work.
Sam Rivera, senior director of Animal Health at the zoo, said in a statement that the zoo is “very concerned” that the cases occurred as its safety protocols when working with great apes and other “susceptible animal species” have been “extremely rigorous” throughout the pandemic.
“Although masks and gloves were already worn by the Gorilla Care Team when team members were inside the gorillas’ indoor areas or preparing outdoor habitats, additional preventive measures, such as N95 masks, Tyvek® suits, modified cleaning protocols and increased ventilation in the gorilla building, have been instituted,” Zoo Atlanta said.
The zoo said that while humans can transmit the coronavirus to some animals — which it says has happened at other zoos — there is no data to suggest animals can transmit the virus to humans.
“Regardless, Zoo Atlanta visitors do not pose a transmission threat to the gorillas or vice versa given the distance between the areas used by guests and the animals’ habitats,” the zoo said.
Rivera said caretakers are monitoring the gorillas and are “hopeful they will make a complete recovery.”
“They are receiving the best possible care, and we are prepared to provide additional supportive care should it become necessary,”River said.
Zoo Atlanta said it’s been authorized to the Zoetis vaccine, which has been used for other zoo animals that are susceptible to the coronavirus.
“The vaccine has arrived, and Zoo Atlanta will vaccinate its Bornean and Sumatran orangutans, Sumatran tigers, African lions, and clouded leopard,” the zoo said. “As the gorillas recover, they will also receive the vaccine.”
This story was originally published September 12, 2021 at 8:30 AM with the headline "All 20 gorillas at Atlanta zoo are tested for COVID after several get sick with virus."
