The services of the Landes prefecture finally got their hands on the two survivors of the mass slaughter, which condemned 163 Java macaques last May.
The run of the macaques of the Pinède des Singes is over. The Landes prefecture announced the capture of two individuals on Tuesday, in a press release. Potentially infected with a deadly virus, they posed a danger to people with whom they might have come into contact.
“In accordance with the strategy adopted at the meeting of June 12, 2017, and in agreement with the general direction of food of the ministry of agriculture, the two macaques were able to be captured, and the serological samples carried out”, specifies the prefecture.
Privileged
Since last May, they were the last two survivors of the old animal park. Their 163 congeners had been slaughtered by the veterinary services. Tests carried out on monkeys had indeed revealed a high rate of contamination by herpes virus B, benign for the macaque but fatal for humans.
But the two individuals benefited from preferential treatment from the trainers, could move in semi-freedom in the park, and had thus escaped massive euthanasia. The veterinary services are currently checking whether or not they are carriers of the virus.
Waiting for results
“Pending the results, which may take several months, the two animals will continue to be monitored by the site manager, specifies the prefecture. It is only at the end of the results that the possibilities of taking will be studied. in charge of the two macaques, in accordance with the texts in force and in collaboration with the host organization and associations already involved in this file. “
The Brigitte Bardot Foundation has volunteered to welcome the two animals. “In any case, this would go through a period of quarantine, before integration into a group of monkeys already formed, or even in a separate space. Whether the animals are positive during the tests or not, this solution is credible, ”Christophe Marie, spokesperson for the association, said last June.
Precautionary principle
The virus, a herpes virus B (MaHV1), “is common and benign in monkeys, but very rare and serious in humans”, we can read on the Public Health France website. The disease would be “fatal in 80% of cases if left untreated”. And if it is treated, neurological sequelae, often disabling, persist in most cases.
Bites and scratches, but also contact with secretions from the animal, especially saliva, or even with cages, can be contaminating. The disease then manifests itself in humans, after 3 days to 5 weeks of incubation, by “fever, diffuse pain and a change in sensitivity of the extremities”, specifies the statement from Public Health France. “An ascending paralysis can follow and lead to a picture of meningoencephalitis in 89% of cases”.
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