Habituating the great apes: the disease risks

Abstract

All six great apes, gorillas Gorilla gorilla and the inadvertent transmission of human diseases. This paper describes the risks, sources and circumstances of G. beringei, chimpanzees Pan troglodytes and P. paniscus, and orang-utans Pongo pygmaeus and P. abelii, are infectious disease transmission from humans to great apes during and consequent upon habituation for tourism categorized as Endangered on the 2000 IUCN Red List and face many threats to their continued existence in the and research. A major problem is that the regulations that protect habituated apes from the transmission wild. These threats include loss of habitat to settlement, logging and agriculture, illegal hunting for bushmeat of disease from people are often poorly enforced. Suggestions are made for improving the enforcement of and traditional medicine, the live ape trade, civil unrest and infectious diseases. The great apes are highly existing regulations governing ape-based tourism, and for minimizing the risk of disease transmission between susceptible to many human diseases, some of which can be fatal while others can cause marked morbidity. There humans, both local people and international visitors, and the great apes. is increasing evidence that diseases can be transmitted from humans to free-living habituated apes, sometimes with serious consequences. If protective measures are

Habituating primates: processes, techniques, variables and ethics

“…Stress provoked during the habituation process could potentially reduce reproductive success or result in immunosuppression and increase susceptibility to disease (Woodford et al, 2002).…”

Anthrax in Western and Central African great apes

“…Because of the physiological and genetic similarities between humans and great apes, human pathogens can be easily transmitted to great apes, resulting in their death [Ferber, 2000;Wallis, 2000;Woodford et al, 2002]. Therefore, collected samples should be tested for a variety of pathogens, including human pathogens, especially in areas where great apes are found in close proximity to human beings (e.g., great ape research camps and tourism sites).…”

Lignes directrices pour de meilleures pratiques en matière de suivi de la santé et de contrôle des maladies des populations de grands singes

“…www.primate-sg.org/best_practice_reintroduction 3 Si de nombreux virus, bactéries et parasites circulent au sein des populations de grands singes avec très peu de conséquences sur leur santé et leur survie, certains d'entre eux, en revanche, peuvent provoquer des maladies (Leendertz et al 2006 ;Gillespie et al 2008 ;Section 6). Le risque d'infection des grands singes par des agents pathogènes d'origine humaine a suscité de nombreuses discussions sur les coûts et les bénéfices relatifs du tourisme de vision des grands singes, de la recherche scientifique et des paradigmes de gestion qui amènent les humains à proximité immédiate des grands singes (Wallis et Lee 1999 ;Woodford et al 2002 ;Köndgen et al 2008). Le tourisme et la recherche ont incontestablement contribué de manière positive à la conservation des grands singes en mettant en avant leur valeur scientifique et économique mais ces activités peuvent aussi avoir des conséquences imprévues sur la santé et la survie des grands singes .…”