On the Buin Zoo on the outskirts of Chilean capital Santiago, a veterinarian sporting a tiger-striped face masks administers an experimental COVID-19 vaccine to a tiger in a cage, as one other zoo employee feeds the animal chunks of uncooked meat through a pair of lengthy tongs.
The Buin Zoo, like others all over the world, is trying to preserve its animals secure from the coronavirus. It’s administering an experimental formulation donated by world animal well being firm Zoetis Inc to its 10 most prone animals, zoo director Ignacio Idalsoaga mentioned.
On Monday, lions, tigers, pumas and even an orangutan obtained the vaccine.
“We’re utilizing an experimental vaccine that may yield short-term outcomes that may in flip enable us to develop a vaccine that’s not available on the market in the present day,” Idalsoaga mentioned.
“These are the primary doses being produced worldwide, which is able to allow scientific accuracy and later enable mass manufacturing to guard each animal from this lethal virus in zoos like ours.”
The Buin Zoo started looking for methods to maintain its animals secure after studying that they – like individuals – had been prone to the coronavirus.
“We received the primary clue from gorillas in San Diego (zoo),” Idalsoaga mentioned. The Buin Zoo contacted Zoetis, which donated 20 doses that the Chilean zoo on Monday used on animals which are probably the most prone: the good felines.
“We’re vaccinating three tigers, three lions, three pumas and our orangutan, as a result of nice apes are additionally prone to this,” he mentioned.
After conducting and publishing analysis on canine and cats final 12 months, Zoetis is testing the vaccine in several zoos, primarily in the US, mentioned Cristian Dunivicher, an animal technician with Zoetis.
In line with the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, the chance of animals spreading the coronavirus to individuals is low, however the virus can unfold from individuals to animals throughout shut contact.
(Reuters)