Culture, Sports and Tourism Secretary Kevin Yeung said animals at the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens were infected with melioidosis. The illness later caused sepsis, NBC News reports. According to him, these infections usually occur through contact with contaminated soil and water. Normally, contact with infected animals or people does not pose any risk to humans.
Eight monkeys were found dead on October 13 and another died on Monday after displaying unusual behavior. The animals killed were De Brazza’s marmoset, a common squirrel monkey, four white-faced sakis and three white-tailed marmosets, a species listed as endangered.
According to the Hong Kong Health Center, melioidosis is caused by the bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei, which is widespread in soil and cloudy water.
Yeung said the park was undergoing excavation work in early October to repair some irrigation pipes under a flower bed near the monkey cages. The death of animals may be related to this. He said the monkeys may have come into contact with the bacteria after park employees entered their cages wearing contaminated shoes. Another possibility is that some of the infected monkeys had close contact with other monkeys, he said.
The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens is the oldest park in the former British colony. It opened in 1871. It is a rare urban oasis in the business heart of a financial center.
