Authorities in northwest China's Shaanxi Province have confirmed that a second giant panda has died after contracting a measle-like virus.
8-year-old panda Da Bao, who developed a twitch after being infected with canine distemper virus, died on Sunday afternoon from heart failure and lung edema.
The first panda, 8-year-old Cheng Cheng, died of the same disease in early December.
Another two pandas infected with distemper are still struggling to survive, with one in critical condition.
Distemper is a viral infection which normally affects dogs and cats.
It normally attacks an animals gastrointestinal and respiratory systems.
However, distemper can also attack an animals' brain or spinal cord, and the result of that is almost always fatal.
Jin Yipeng, associate professor from China Agricultural University, explains why female giant pandas seem more vulnerable to distemper.
"The reason why more female giant pandas were diagnosed with distemper in our center is probably that most giant pandas here are female. In the wild female giant pandas more frequently contract diseases or get hurt, so there is a high ratio of female giant pandas in the center."
18 of the healthy pandas at the research facility have been moved to different sites.
Around 30 specialists from around China are working at the zoo in Xi'an to try to help the pandas through their infections.
