RHESUS MACAQUE

RHESUS MACAQUE

Subject: Environment

Context: The rhesus macaque, a monkey widely prevalent in India, is a promising model for vaccines against Covid-19, according to two independent studies.

Concept:

• Scientists at Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed) and Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) evaluated three nonhuman primate species — Indian rhesus macaques, African baboons and new-world origin common marmosets — and young and old animals.
• They found that the macaque and baboon models develop strong signs of acute viral infection leading to pneumonia, and the non-human primate immune system mounts a strong response and clears the SARS-CoV-2 infection.
• Scientists have reported that rhesus macaques infected with SARS-CoV-2 developed protective immune responses that might be reproduced with a vaccine.

Rhesus Macaque

• These are familiar brown primates with red faces and rears. They have close-cropped hair on their heads, which accentuates their very expressive faces.
• Their natural range includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Southeast Asia, and China. A few troops of introduced rhesus macaques now live wild in Florida.
• It has a least concerned status in the IUCN red list.
• These intelligent animals can adapt to many habitats, and some can even become accustomed to living in human communities. This is most common in India.
• Rhesus Macaque monkeys are protected species under Schedule II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The law allows for it to be hunted by declaring it ‘vermin’ for a specific period if it poses a danger to human life or property.