In first suspected case of Covid-19 among wild animals in Maharashtra, cub’s swabs sent for testing

The Maharashtra forest department has sent the swab samples of a three-month-old female tiger cub from Chandrapur, an orange zone, to the Nagpur Veterinary College (NVC) to conduct tests for the Sars-Cov-2 virus, which causes Covid-19. This is the first suspected case of coronavirus in a wild animal in the state.

“The test result is expected on Tuesday. We will only be able to establish if there are any traces of the virus in the cub’s body based on genetic analysis as a preliminary result. The forest department can further send samples to other institutes for definitive results, as such a Covid-19 test for animals have not been done by us before,” said Dr AP Somkuwar, associate dean, NVC, which is also testing around 50 human samples everyday.

The test was done as a precautionary measure based on the suggestions by experts, said SV Ramarao, chief conservator of forest, Chandrapur. The officials had rescued the cub without wearing any protective gear and she was also unwell initially.

“The cub is healthy and not showing any symptoms such as coughing, nasal discharge, respiratory distress, diarrhoea or fever etc. The swab was collected by veterinary professionals wearing personal protective equipment (PPE),” said Ramarao.

“We will be closely monitoring the tiger cub’s case from Maharashtra,” Anup Nayak, member secretary, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), said.

After being abandoned by her mother on April 24, the cub was rescued from the paddy fields in Sushi Dabgaon village in Mul taluka, around 60km from Chandrapur city and 35km from the main Chandrapur-Mul road, by wildlife activists and the forest department after villagers reached out to them. The cub is currently being kept at the transit treatment centre in Chandrapur.

“Villagers crowded the area making the rescue very difficult. We found the animal in the dry grass. The cub was in shock and was not keeping well the first few days,” said AL Sonkusare, divisional forest officer (territorial), Chandrapur.

“However, she is much better now. None of the rescue staff or field officers has displayed any Covid-19 symptoms.”

After the first confirmed case of coronavirus in a tiger at a New York zoo was reported on April 5, the NTCA had issued an advisory to all chief wildlife wardens and field directors of tiger reserves on April 6.

“We expressly advised the use of PPE and all other safety measures during any rescue or rehabilitation operations involving tigers. States were also asked to send the swab samples of tigers only to three animal institutes approved by the Centre for Covid-19 testing. These include the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal; the National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE) in Hisar, Haryana, and the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh),” said Nayak.

Nitin Kakodkar, principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife) said, “Based on the response from NVC, we will be sending samples again to one of the approved testing institutes identified by the Centre to ensure results are accurate.”

A number of non-governmental bodies had raised concerns over the rescue operation and said it was carried out without proper PPE gear. Wildlife activist Umeshsingh Zire, who carried out the rescue operation with the forest department, said, “Neither us nor forest officials have any personal protective equipment for such rescues.”

Nayak added that this was the second case of a tiger being tested for Covid-19 in India. In April, the samples of a dead 10-year-old male tiger from Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh had been sent for testing.

“The tiger had tested negative. So far, no tigers in the wild or forest staff has tested positive anywhere in India,” he said.

Meanwhile, once the test results are received for the cub, the department plans on reuniting her with her mother. “The tigress is less than 2km away from the spot where the cub was rescued, and it is pertinent that at this young age that the cub gets the mother’s milk and protection,” said Sonkusare.