Three apes at Jacksonville Zoo die from shigella infection

Three apes living at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens died from a shigella infection last week, the zoo said on Facebook.

On Thursday, the zoo announced the “unexpected” death of Bulera, a 35-year-old female western lowland gorilla.

The zoo said Bulera died of shigella, a bacteria that causes shigellosis and results in symptoms including diarrhea, vomiting, cramps and dehydration.

The infection is typically spread through contact with feces, food or water, the zoo said, but noted that while “we may never know the exact source” of Bulera’s infection, it could have come from an asymptomatic ape or a staff member, which the zoo said was “unlikely.”

Shigella may be more serious in apes, the zoo said, because they may have a harder time fighting off the infection.

When Bulera died, other apes were experiencing symptoms due to the highly contagious nature of shigella and were in “different stages of treatment and recovery,” the zoo said.

Despite efforts to care for the sick apes and the use of “PPE and regular sanitation to prevent further spread,” the zoo said two more apes, bonobo monkey brothers named Jumanji and Jenga, died on Monday.

Both Jumanji and Jenga, born in 1996 and 2011 respectively, had existing heart problems, making them vulnerable to infection, the zoo said.

The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens acknowledged the difficulty of losing three primates in a week and said its staff is working to help the still-sick apes recover from shigella.

“While many of the apes are in various stages of treatment and recovery, thanks to the hard work and resilience of our team, we have seen significant progress,” the zoo said.

She said animal health and care teams continue to “closely monitor the situation” because shigella can have periods of improvement and then relapse.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com