Nine monkeys – including three from a critically endangered species – who died in Hong Kong’s oldest zoo this week had been infected with an endemic disease, officials said on Friday.
The animals in the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens contracted melioidosis, possibly after some digging work near their cages, that later caused them to develop sepsis, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung said in a press briefing.
Yeung stressed that such infections typically occur through contact with contaminated soil and water and that there is generally no danger to humans from contact with infected animals or people.
