Coronavirus: Monkeys 'escape with COVID-19 samples' after attacking lab assistant
From NEWS.SKY.COM
A gang of monkeys attacked a laboratory assistant and escaped with a batch of coronavirus blood test samples, it has been reported.
The bizarre incident saw the troop of primates launch their assault near Meerut Medical College in Delhi, India.
According to local media, the animals then snatched COVID-19 blood test samples that had been taken from three patients and fled.
One of the monkeys was later spotted in a tree chewing one of the sample collection kits, the Times of India reported - adding that test samples from the patients had to be taken again.
The undamaged kits were later recovered, the Meerut medical college superintendent, Dheeraj Raj, told AFP.
He added: "They were still intact and we don't think there is any risk of contamination or spread."
It is the latest example of the highly intelligent, red-faced rhesus macaques taking advantage of India's nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus.
While they have proved an increasing problem in urban areas of the country in recent years, lockdown measures in the last two months are believed to have emboldened the monkeys.
Reports have shown them congregating in parts of Delhi normally crowded with humans.
The animals have adapted to live in close contact with people, and it is believed some groups have struggled in the absence of human food they had come to rely on.
People have been advised not to feed the monkeys while the pandemic continues, with experts suggesting doing so could cause the virus to mutate and infect prim... (Read more)
Submitted 1426 days ago
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