Title
Anthrax in western and Central African great apes
Author(s)
Leendertz F.H., Lankester F., Guislain P., Neel C., Drori O., Dupain J., Speede S., Reed P., Wolfe N., Loul S., Mpoudi-Ngole E., Peeters M., Boesch C., Pauli G., Ellerbrok H., Leroy E.M.
Published
2006
Publisher
American Journal of Primatology
Abstract
During the period of December 2004 to January 2005, Bacillus anthracis killed three wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) and one gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in a tropical forest in Cameroon. While this is the second anthrax outbreak in wild chimpanzees, this is the first case of anthrax in gorillas ever reported. The number of great apes in Central Africa is dramatically declining and the populations are seriously threatened by diseases, mainly Ebola. Nevertheless, a considerable number of deaths cannot be attributed to Ebola virus and remained unexplained. Our results show that diseases other than Ebola may also threaten wild great apes, and indicate that the role of anthrax in great ape mortality may have been underestimated. These results suggest that risk identification, assessment, and management for the survival of the last great apes should be performed with an open mind, since various pathogens with distinct characteristics in epidemiology and pathogenicity may impact the populations. An animal mortality monitoring network covering the entire African tropical forest, with the dual aims of preventing both great ape extinction and human disease outbreaks, will create necessary baseline data for such risk assessments and management plans. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Keywords
anthrax toxin; bacterial antigen; bacterial DNA; bacterial toxin; anthrax; endangered species; epidemiology; mortality; pathogenicity; population decline; primate; risk assessment; survival; tropical forest; viral disease; animal; animal disease; anthrax; ape disease; article; Bacillus anthracis; Cameroon; chemistry; genetics; gorilla; isolation and purification; microbiology; Pan troglodytes; polymerase chain reaction; Animals; Anthrax; Antigens, Bacterial; Ape Diseases; Bacillus anthracis; Bacterial Toxins; Cameroon; DNA, Bacterial; Gorilla gorilla; Pan troglodytes; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Africa; Cameroon; Central Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; West Africa; Animalia; Bacillus anthracis; Ebola virus; Gorilla gorilla gorilla; Hominidae; Pan; Pan troglodytes; Pan troglodytes troglodytes
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PUB10830