Gorillas at San Diego wildlife park stricken with Covid-19 after apparently being infected by zookeeper

Several gorillas at a wildlife park in San Diego are thought to be among the first such primates to contract the coronavirus, after they tested positive.

A zookeeper was said to have passed the virus on to the animals, according to an executive at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The employee had also recently tested positive for Covid-19.

Lisa Peterson, the park’s executive director, told The San Diego Union-Tribune that eight western lowland gorillas were likely exposed, and were being closely monitored. They are all expected to make a full recovery.

Officials from the US Department of Agriculture National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed positive tests in three of the gorillas, after all eight’s faeces were tested at the park in Escondido, California. 

The faeces tests were carried out after two gorillas started coughing two weeks ago, just days after a zoopkeeper tested positive. 

According to Ms Peterson, the animals are no longer showing symptoms. "We're not seeing any of that lethargy. No coughing, no runny noses anymore. It feels to us like we've turned the corner," she told the Tribune.

A 49-year-old silverback named Winston who had pneumonia, as well as heart disease, received antibiotics and an antibody treatment to boost his immune response to Covid-19.

Some of the gorillas will also receive a Covid-19 vaccine not permitted for use in people, the Tribune reported.

"The hope is that we would be able to vaccinate wildlife that would be susceptible to illness and then prevent them from ever catching it," Ms Peterson said.

According to the report, the gorillas caught the same “California strain” of the virus that has been recorded in at least 14 Covid-19 cases in San Diego County and 446 infections statewide.

Over 3 million people have caught Covid-19 in California, and 37,500 deaths have been recorded since the pandemic began in the state.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press.