Monkeys stole blood samples from a laboratory in India that had been taken from people undergoing treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, international media reported Friday.
The incident happened earlier this week on the campus of the state-run medical college in Meerut, near Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state, Reuters reported.
A troop of monkeys attacked a lab technician, stole the samples and fled , Reuters reported, citing Dr. S. K. Garg, a top official at the college.
“Monkeys grabbed and fled with the blood samples of four COVID-19 patients who are undergoing treatment … we had to take their blood samples again,” he said, Reuters reported.
“These were not COVID test samples, but blood samples from COVID patients meant for routine tests,” the doctor specified, according to India’s NDTV.
More than 173,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in India, one of the world’s most populous country, since health officials first learned of the disease late last year.
The World Health Organization has previously said that COVID-19 likely circulated among bats prior to spreading to an intermediary host animal and then humans.
Dr. Garg noted that it is not clear yet of monkeys can become infected with COVID-19, however, Reuters noted.
“No evidence has been found that monkeys can contract the infection,” he said, according to the news agency.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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