Date:15/07/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/07/15/stories/2007071559080300.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Wild boar dies at city zoo

Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A wild boar was found dead inside its enclosure at the city zoo on Saturday rekindling fears that the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) situation there is yet to be brought under control.

Zoo director Elcy George said here that the doctors who conducted the post mortem examination on the animal have, however, ruled out the possibility of FMD being the cause of the boar’s death. All the same blood samples from the dead animal have been sent for analysis, she said.

Wild boars are known to be effective carriers of the FMD virus. The virus is also known to gain in virulence while in this host.

An official from the Indian Immunological Laboratory visited the zoo on Saturday to review the measures being taken to contain the FMD virus.