Great apes vaccinated against coronavirus after outbreak of COVID-19

Four orangutans and five bonobo monkeys received the novel coronavirus vaccine in January and February.

Three bonobos and a gorilla are also expected to receive the experimental vaccine. It was developed by Zoetis Inc., an American company that produces medicines for animals.

Vaccinations follow the January outbreakCOVID-19 at the zoo's safari park. Eight western lowland gorillas have contracted the virus, officials said. This was likely due to contact with a zoo worker who tested positive for COVID-19.

“It made us realize that our othermonkeys are in danger, ”said Nadine Lambski, chief conservationist at the San Diego Zoo, to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “We wanted to do our best to protect them from the virus. After all, we do not know how he will affect them. "

The gorillas had symptoms ranging from a runny nose to coughing and lethargy. But they get well.

Wildlife experts expressedconcerns about the coronavirus infecting gorillas and other endangered apes, most of whose DNA matches that of humans. Other species of wildlife elsewhere - from minks to tigers - have also contracted the virus.

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Western lowland gorilla   is a subspecies of the western gorilla.Lives in mountainous primary or secondary forests and swampy areas. Distributed in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Extinct in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kept in zoos.