A pair of lions at the Nehru Zoological Park
HYDERABAD: In perhaps the first such case in the country, eight Asiatic lions at the Nehru Zoological Park (NZP) in Hyderabad have tested positive for Covid-19.
Sources told TOI said that on April 29, the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) orally told NZP officials that the RT-PCR tests of these lions were positive.
The curator and director of NZP Dr Siddhanand Kukrety neither denied nor confirmed this.
“It’s true that the lions showed Covid symptoms but I’m yet to receive the RT-PCR reports from the CCMB and hence it will not be proper to comment. The lions are doing well,” said Dr Kukrety.
Covid India: 8 Asiatic lions test positive for coronavirus
Web report/Hyderabad
Photo: Reuters
It is the first known instance of such a case in India.
Eight Asiatic lions at the sprawling Nehru Zoological park in Hyderabad have tested positive for the coronavirus, the first known instance in India.
Dr Siddhanand Kukrety, curator and director of the Hyderabad zoo, told the Times of India that the lions had shown Covid symptoms. “But I am yet to receive RT-PCR reports from the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB),” he said.
He noted that the lions were doing well. The CCMB will do a detailed investigation of the samples for genome sequencing to check if the strain came from humans.
First In India: 8 Lions In Hyd Zoo Test Covid+ Published by GulteDesk May 04, 2021
Across the globe we have heard less reports about animals contracting the Covid-19 virus and we have a first in India. About 8 lions of Hyderabad’s Nehru Zoological park have tested positive for Covid-19.
The staff who have been noticing the lions (four males and four females) being sick and showing Covid symptoms, informed the officials. Accordingly the samples of 8 lions have been collected and sent to the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad. And the results have arrived as positive. Regarding the same the zoo authorities have issued a press statement confirming the lions contracting the virus.
8 lions in Hyderabad zoo test positive for Covid, first such case in India
ByVijay PinjarkarVijay Pinjarkar / Updated: May 4, 2021, 09:29 IST
(This story was first published in The Times of India on May 4, 2021)
HYDERABAD: In perhaps the first such case in the country, eight Asiatic lions at the
Nehru Zoological Park (NZP) in
Hyderabad have tested positive for Covid-19.
Sources told TOI said that on April 29, the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) orally told NZP officials that the
RT-PCR tests of these lions were positive.
The curator and director of NZP Dr Siddhanand Kukrety neither denied nor confirmed this.
“It’s true that the lions showed Covid symptoms but I’m yet to receive the RT-PCR reports from the CCMB and hence it will not be proper to comment. The lions are doing well,” said Dr Kukrety.
Hyderabad zoo reports Coronavirus in 8 lions; first of its kind case in India
Times of IndiaTIMESOFINDIA.COM|TRAVEL NEWS, HYDERABAD Created : May 4, 2021, 15:17 IST
In shocking news, Hyderabad zoo has reported Coronavirus in eight lions. This is the first of its kind case in India, wherein as many as eight Asiatic lions at the Nehru Zoological Park (NZP) in Hyderabad have tested positive for the deadly virus. On April 29, TOI reported that Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) informed NZP officials that RT-PCR tests have come positive for these lions.
Dr. Siddhanand Kukrety, who is the curator and director of NZP, has neither confirmed nor denied the news. Instead he said, “It’s true that the lions showed Covid symptoms but I’m yet to receive the RT-PCR reports from the CCMB and hence it will not be proper to comment. The lions are doing well”.