KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A gorilla at the Kansas City Zoo has tested positive for COVID-19, zoo officials said.
One of the zoo's western lowland gorillas, named Charlie, was recently diagnosed with the delta variant of the coronavirus, according to a news release. Zoo visitors are not believed to be at risk of infection because of the distance between the zoo's viewing walkways and the animal habitats.
The gorilla is part of a troop of six gorillas, zoo officials said. They're still waiting for test results to come back for the other five, but it's presumed that all the gorillas were infected.
"While all the gorillas have shown symptoms of the virus, some have already returned to normal while the others continue to respond to treatment and are improving," according to the release.
Charlie first started showing sign of not feeling well on Sept. 22, the zoo said. Then he began coughing on Sept. 25, at which point the zoo's veterinary team began treating him.
In the next 72 hours, he also experienced symptoms including loss of appetite and lethargy, according to the release.
On Tuesday, the National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed that Charlie has COVID-19, the zoo said.
As the other gorillas await their test results, all are being treated with medications including Vitamin C, Zinc and ibuprofen, according to the release.
The zoo plans to vaccinate all of the great apes, which includes the gorillas, but they are still waiting to receive the necessary doses of the Zoetis vaccine, which was developed specifically for animals.
"While we do not know exactly how the gorillas came to be infected, we have worked to minimize the risk through limited contact and the use of appropriate PPE," according to the release.
