Entamoeba histolytica is an enteric parasite that infects approximately 50 million people worldwide. Although E. histolytica is a zoonotic parasite that has the potential to infect nonhuman primates, such transmission is poorly understood. Consequently, this study examined whether E. histolytica is present among humans, chimpanzees and baboons living in the Greater Gombe Ecosystem (GGE), Tanzania. The primary aims were to determine patterns of E. histolytica infection in a system with human-nonhuman primate overlap and to test associations between infection status and potential risk factors of disease. Entamoeba spp. occurred in 60.3% of human, 65.6% of chimpanzee and 88.6% of baboon samples. Entamoeba histolytica occurred in 12.1% of human, 34.1% of chimpanzee and 10.9% of baboon samples. Human E. histolytica infection was associated with gastrointestinal symptoms. This was the first study to confirm the presence of E. histolytica in the GGE. The high sample prevalence of E. histolytica in three sympatric primates suggests that zoonotic transmission is possible and stresses the need for further phylogenetic studies. Interventions targeting better sanitation and hygiene practices for humans living in the GGE can help prevent E. histolytica infection in humans, while also protecting the endangered chimpanzees and other primates in this region.
Infectious disease outbreaks pose a significant threat to the conservation of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and all threatened nonhuman primates. Characterizing and mitigating these threats to support the sustainability and welfare of wild populations is of the highest priority. In an attempt to understand and mitigate the risk of disease for the chimpanzees of Gombe National Park, Tanzania, we initiated a long‐term health‐monitoring program in 2004. While the initial focus was to expand the ongoing behavioral research on chimpanzees to include standardized data on clinical signs of health, it soon became evident that the scope of the project would ideally include diagnostic surveillance of pathogens for all primates (including people) and domestic animals, both within and surrounding the National Park. Integration of these data, along with in‐depth post‐mortem examinations, have allowed us to establish baseline health indicators to inform outbreak response. Here, we describe the development and expansion of the Gombe Ecosystem Health project, review major findings from the research and summarize the challenges and lessons learned over the past 16 years. We also highlight future directions and present the opportunities and challenges that remain when implementing studies of ecosystem health in a complex, multispecies environment.
Infectious diseases have the potential to extirpate populations of great apes. As the interface between humans and great apes expands, zoonoses pose an increasingly severe threat to already endangered great ape populations. Despite recognition of the threat posed by human pathogens to great apes, health monitoring is only conducted for a small fraction of the world's wild great apes (and mostly those that are habituated) meaning that outbreaks of disease often go unrecognized and therefore unmitigated. This lack of surveillance (even in sites where capacity to conduct surveillance is present) is the most significant limiting factor in our ability to quickly detect and respond to emerging infectious diseases in great apes when they first appear. Accordingly, we must create a surveillance system that links disease outbreaks in humans and great apes in time and space, and enables veterinarians, clinicians, conservation managers, national decision makers, and the global health community to respond quickly to these events. Here, we review existing great ape health surveillance programs in African range habitats to identify successes, gaps, and challenges. We use these findings to argue that standardization of surveillance across sites and geographic scales, that monitors primate health in real‐time and generates early warnings of disease outbreaks, is an efficient, low‐cost step to conserve great ape populations. Such a surveillance program, which we call “Great Ape Health Watch” would lead to long‐term improvements in outbreak preparedness, prevention, detection, and response, while generating valuable data for epidemiological research and sustainable conservation planning. Standardized monitoring of great apes would also make it easier to integrate with human surveillance activities. This approach would empower local stakeholders to link wildlife and human health, allowing for near real‐time, bidirectional surveillance at the great ape‐human interface.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.