Monkeys who died in Hong Kong zoo had bacterial infection – officials

A buff-cheeked gibbon swings in its cage at Hong Kong’s Zoological and Botanical Gardens (AP)

Nine monkeys who died in Hong Kong’s oldest zoo in two days this week had been infected with an endemic bacterial disease, possibly after some digging work near their cages, officials said on Friday.

Secretary for culture, sports and tourism Kevin Yeung said in a press briefing that the animals in the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens contracted melioidosis and the disease later caused them to develop sepsis.