A Serological Survey of Ebola Virus Infection in Central African Nonhuman Primates

Abstract

We used an ELISA to determine the prevalence of IgG antibodies specific for the Zaire subtype of Ebola virus in 790 nonhuman primates, belonging to 20 species, studied between 1985 and 2000 in Cameroon, Gabon, and the Republic of Congo. The seroprevalence rate of Ebola antibody in wild-born chimpanzees was 12.9%, indicating that (1) Ebola virus circulates in the forests of a large region of central Africa, including countries such as Cameroon, where no human cases of Ebola infections have been reported; (2) Ebola virus was present in the area before recent outbreaks in humans; (3) chimpanzees are continuously in contact with the virus; and (4) nonlethal Ebola infection can occur in chimpanzees. These results, together with the unexpected detection of Ebola-specific IgG in other species (5 drills, 1 baboon, 1 mandrill, and 1 Cercopithecus), may help to narrow the search for the reservoir of Ebola virus. They also suggest that future Ebola outbreaks may occur anywhere in the central African forest region.

Isolates of Zaire ebolavirus from wild apes reveal genetic lineage and recombinants

“…Tissues were tested for ZEBOV in the high-level security laboratory at the Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville, using RT-PCR and antigen capture assays as described in ref. 5.…”

“…Only Ϸ10 recognized ZEBOV outbreaks among humans have occurred to date, and all of these took place in west-central Africa during three distinct periods : 1976-1977, 1994-1997, and 2001-2005 (1). Outbreaks have been shown to coincide with significant mortality among wildlife in surrounding areas (2,3), and it is thought that people first acquire infection through the handling of infected animal carcasses (1,4,5). Ecological survey data indicate that the detrimental effects of ZEBOV infection on wildlife populations, mainly chimpanzees and gorillas, over the last two decades have been much more dramatic and widespread than the frequency and geographic scale of human outbreaks alone would suggest (2,(6)(7)(8).…”

<b>First record of tapeworm <I>Moniezia</I> (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) infections in Leopards: Coprological survey of gastrointestinal parasites of wild and captive cats in Sri Lanka</b>

“…Several threatened mammal species are being further negatively impacted by infectious diseases. Examples are the Serengeti lions and black footed ferrets threatened by canine distemper (Williams et al 1988;Roelke-Parker et al 1996), species of central African non-human primates threatened by Ebola virus and Marburg hemorrhagic diseases (Leroy et al 2004) and Tasmanian devils by transmissible facial disease (Pearse & Swift 2006), although none of these species have become extinct yet. Only one study carried out in Christmas Island at the beginning of the 20 th century identified diseases as the primary cause of extinction when investigating the disappearance of two endemic murid species (Wyatt et al 2008).…”

Chiropteran and Filoviruses in Africa: Unveiling an ancient history

“…Analyses of animal carcasses show that the great apes of the central African forests are particularly at risk for Ebola. This was confirmed by a serologic survey based on 790 samples taken from about 20 primate species in Cameroon, Gabon and Republic of Congo (Leroy et al, 2004a). Interestingly, some positive samples largely preceded the first human outbreaks in these regions, suggesting a viral sylvatic amplification chronologically happening before human contact with the virus.…”

“…Zoonoses are diseases that originate from wildlife and strike living animals, threatening animal biodiversity and public health (Daszak et al, 2000;Leroy et al, 2004a;Woolhouse et al, 2005;Lahm et al, 2007;Jones et al, 2008). Filoviral hemorrhagic fever asymptomatically develops in the wild vertebrate host and cause fatal manifestations when it reaches human beings (anthropozoonose).…”