Quarantined animals with infectious diseases

Honey bees, chimpanzees, American buffalo frogs or Caribbean lobster lobsters often take the initiative to stay away from co-infected viruses or bacteria that cause contagious diseases.

People in countries heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic are struggling to find ways to avoid contact with others and indoors.Social distancing is not a new concept in the natural world where infectious diseases are common. In fact, some animals keep a distance from their species in their community if the pathogen is detected in that individual.

Social isolation is a challenge because infected individuals are not always easy to detect, according to Joseph Kiesecker, research leader of The Nature Conservancy. However, with a keen sense, many animals can detect a number of infectious diseases, sometimes even before the onset of recognizable symptoms and adjust their behavior to avoid infection.

Honeybee

Bacterial diseases such as the Americas larvae often cause severe damage to honey bee colonies, according to Alison McAfee, a postdoctoral research student in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at the University of North Carolina. , America. Infected larvae emit a chemical odor that adult bees can smell as a mixture of oleic acid and β-ocimene, a type of pheromone in bees. After identifying the individual carrying the pathogen, worker bees often throw them out of the nest.

Gorilla

Polio chimps are isolated by other members of the herd.(Photo: National Geographic).

In 1966, while studying chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania, the primate Jane Goodall observed a chimpanzee named McGregor suffering from polio virus with a high degree of infection. It was attacked and isolated by fellow humans. In one situation, the chimpanzee is partially paralyzed close to the other chimpanzees brushing their hair. It reached out to salute but the members quickly left without looking back."For two minutes, McGregor chimps sat motionless and stared behind them," Goodall said.

Goodall also recorded a few cases of chimpanzees suffering from polio in the study. She noted that several infected individuals were welcomed back into the herd. Goodall explained that, like humans, chimpanzees are creatures affected by appearance. The initial stigma towards polio chimpanzees may come from fear of their deformed forms, part of a strategy to avoid the spread of disease.

American buffalo frog

Before Kiesecker began studying American buffalo tadpoles in the late 1990s, models predicting the spread of disease in a wildlife population suggested that contact with infected individuals was random. course. In experiments, Kiesecker found that tadpoles are not only capable of detecting dangerous fungal infections in other tadpoles, but healthy individuals also actively avoid contact with sick fellows. Similar to honey bees, tadpoles rely on chemical signals to identify sick children.

Caribbean lobster

The lobster actively avoids the sick individual before the time of infection.(Photo: Wikipedia).

Caribbean lobster also repels infected individuals in the population before they are themselves infected. The time it took for lobsters to carry Panulirus argus virus to humans is about 8 weeks after infection. However, healthy lobsters often stay away for 4 weeks after their congregation is infected with the virus due to the ability to sniff the chemical compounds emitted by sick children.