Eight Asiatic lions at the Nehru Zoological Park (NZP) in Hyderabad have tested COVID-19 positive, in what is believed to be the first case of human to animal transmission in India. The Zoo reported the lions with mild respiratory distress. Based on the guidelines of the Central Zoo Authority, their nasal and oral discharge samples were collected and sent for tests to the Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species at CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (LaCONES-CCMB). The samples were tested using RT-PCR, and found positive for coronavirus, the CCMB said on Tuesday. The CCMB analysed the genomes of coronavirus samples from these lions, and did not find those to be a variant of concern. "As and when we noticed symptoms of nasal discharge from the lions housed in the Lion Safari enclosures, we decided to send the samples for testing possibility of viral infection," NZP Curator Subhadra Devi said. "The lions have been now isolated at the zoo from other animals, and are receiving due care and necessary treatment. They are also responding well to the treatment and recovering," APCCF and Director of Zoos, Dr S. Kukrety. (IANS)
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