Expert says pets may have infected pandas

Tourists who took their pets along when they visited a wildlife center in Shaanxi may have spread the canine distemper virus that killed four giant pandas, according to National People's Congress deputy Hou Rong.

"Experts are still looking for the source of the virus, and I think pets are a possibility," said Hou, the head of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan province.

"Some tourists have hidden their dogs or cats in bags and brought them into our panda base. Though this is prohibited and there are 'no pets' signs everywhere, people still do it."