Ape at San Diego zoo improving after virus antibody therapy
SAN DIEGO – A troop of gorillas at San Diego Zoo Safari Park appears to be recovering from the coronavirus – including a 49-year-old silverback who received antibody therapy – in what is believed to be the first known cases among such primates.
The western lowland gorillas were infected with a variant that has been circulating in California and is believed to be more contagious than other strains, the safari park said Monday in a statement. Some gorillas showed symptoms including mild coughing, congestion and intermittent lethargy.
The silverback named Winston, had pneumonia, likely caused by the virus, as well as heart disease. He has been more active since being put on antibiotics and heart medication, and receiving an antibody treatment – a therapy to block the virus from infecting cells, San Diego Zoo Safari Park said in a statement.
“We’re not seeing any of that lethargy. No coughing, no runny noses anymore,” the park’s executive director Lisa Peterson told the San Diego Union-Tribune, adding that the animals’ fecal matter is no longer testing positive for the virus. “It feels to us like we’ve turned the corner.”
Officials tested the troop of gorillas after two apes began coughing on Jan. 6. Positive test results were confirmed by the U.S Department of Agriculture National Veterinary Services Laboratories in three gorillas.
The apes were likely exposed by a zookeeper who tested positive for COVID-19 in early January, officials said.