The Research Institute of Medical Primatology in Sochi is the only major primatological center in Russia to date. The number of animals held in it amounts to about 6,000. As EcoTourism Expert came to know, deputy director for research at the Institute, Gina Karal-oglu, the institute does not have a license to work with pathogens of groups 1 and 2, therefore, experiments on the study of coronavirus cannot be carried out there. However, the institute is ready to provide, if necessary, animals to study coronavirus infection on them, to search for the vaccine.
Due to the anatomical and physiological similarity, primates are considered laboratory doubles of humans, data obtained on primates, with minimal correction, can be extrapolated to humans and consider the results of experiments on monkeys as the most accurately reflecting similar patterns in humans. After the experiments, the animals are sent to enclosures for further breeding, however, they are no longer suitable for experiments, since it is necessary to select “pure” monkeys. The institute emphasized that the selection of animals is a complex zootechnical work, it is necessary to take into account the hierarchy of the herd, and families cannot be destroyed.
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