Monkeys steal coronavirus patient blood samples from lab tech

  • 04 Jul - 10 Jul, 2020
  • Mag The Weekly
  • Mag Files

It sounds bananas, but authorities in India say a troop of monkeys attacked a medical official and stole blood samples belonging to patients who had tested positive for the coronavirus. Earlier this week, a lab technician at a state-run medical college in Meerut was walking across campus when some rhesus macaques converged on him. The monkeys then snatched away blood samples that the lab tech was carrying that came from four Covid-19 patients who are undergoing treatment. Eyewitnesses reported seeing a monkey chewing on one of the sample collection kits while sitting at the top of a tree. In addition, the monkeys left parts of the stolen kits scattered on the ground, concerning local officials. Dr S. K. Garg, an official at the college where the monkey attack occurred, told Reuters he wasn’t sure if the monkeys might contract the coronavirus if they have come into contact with infected blood. “No evidence has been found that monkeys can contract the infection,” Garg said. SkyNews reports that since lockdown measures were imposed two months ago in the area, monkeys have been congregating in places that are normally crowded with humans. However, some observers believe that many of the primates are struggling because the human food they normally consume has been severely reduced.

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