Two other pandasChengcheng and Dabaohave passed away from the canine distemper virus since early December, according to Han Xueli, spokesperson at the Shaanxi Province Rare Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Research Center.
The virus is often fatal for pandas, killing up to 80% of those infected. The research center says it does not know how the infections occurred.
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CNN’s Pamela Boykoff wrote from Hong Kong, Shen Lu reported from Beijing.
