CCMB releases guidelines for Covid testing in zoo animals

The special guidelines from LaCONES-CCMB have been released after Covid-19 was reported among zoo animals in the country

Hyderabad: The Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES) of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in collaboration with Central Zoo Authority and Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change on Monday has released guidelines for zoo frontline workers on Covid-19 investigation in captive animals.

The special guidelines from LaCONES-CCMB have been released after Covid-19 was reported among zoo animals in the country. “The guidelines provide detailed protocols that include pictorials and frequently asked questions for an easier understanding of those collecting samples for Covid testing in wildlife”, said Dr Vinay K Nandicoori, Director, CCMB said.

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LaCONES started testing animal samples for possible SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection in August 2020 and scientists found the first positive samples from Asiatic lions at Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad in April, 2021.

During this time, the LaCONES team tried testing for coronavirus using different kinds of nasal, oropharyngeal, rectal and fecal samples from the animals. LaCONES regularly tests wildlife samples using DNA-based molecular biology tools to solve wildlife cases. These tests are very similar to the ones being used for coronavirus testing.

“We hope that our recommendations will help the zoo staff in collecting and packing the samples appropriately before they send out to animal testing centres. The guidelines should smoothen the process for zoos as well as testing centres. Given how difficult it is to get samples from animals, it is all the more important that we make most of the samples we get,” said Dr Karthikeyan Vasudevan, Scientist-in- charge, LaCONES, CSIR-CCMB.

Link to the guidelines for Covid-19 investigation in captive animals: http://cza.nic.in/uploads/documents/guidelines/english/GUIDELINES_FOR_COVID- 19_INVESTIGATION_IN_CAPTIVE_WILD_ANIMALS.pdf

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