Leprosy in wild chimpanzees

Hockings, Kimberley J.; Mubemba, Benjamin; Avanzi, Charlotte; Pléh, Kamilla; Düx, Ariane; Bersacola, Elena; Bessa, Joana; Ramon, Marina; Metzger, Sonja; Patrono, Livia Victoria; Jaffe, Jenny E.; Benjak, Andrej; Bonneaud, Camille; Busso, Philippe; Couacy‐Hymann, Emmanuel; Gado, Moussa; Gagneux, Sébastien; Johnson, Roch Christian; Kodio, Mamoudou; Lynton-Jenkins, Joshua; Морозова, Ирина; Mätz‐Rensing, Kerstin; Regalla, Aissa; Said, Abílio R.; Schuenemann, Verena J.; Sow, Samba O.; Spencer, John S.; Ulrich, Markus; Zoubi, Hyacinthe; Cole, Stewart T.; Wittig, Roman M.; Calvignac‐Spencer, Sébastien; Leendertz, Fabian H.

doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03968-4

Cited by 39 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Since 2013, the Cantanhez Chimpanzee Project has been building a knowledge base of human-wildlife interactions. In 2015, we first observed symptoms of leprosy (Mycobacterium leprae) in chimpanzees at Cantanhez NP, with molecular confirmation of M. leprae as the causative agent in 2018 (Hockings et al, 2021). This is the first evidence of leprosy in wild nonhuman great apes and in any wildlife in Africa.…”

Section: Responding To a Newly Identified Disease Threat In Critically Endangered Western Chimpanzees At Cantanhez Np Guinea-bissaumentioning

confidence: 74%

“…Mycobacterium leprae can circulate in other animal hosts in the wild, such as the nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) in South and North America and red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) in the United Kingdom, with the pathogen likely transmitted from humans centuries ago (Hamilton et al, 2008;Sharma et al, 2013;Avanzi et al, 2016). Our recent study on leprosy circulating in wild chimpanzees also suggests environmental reservoirs as potential sources of infection (Hockings et al, 2021).…”

Section: Responding To a Newly Identified Disease Threat In Critically Endangered Western Chimpanzees At Cantanhez Np Guinea-bissaumentioning

confidence: 81%

“…We identified seven affected individuals (three adult females, two adult males and two adults of unconfirmed sex), and possible cases of leprosy in three other individuals. Advanced leprosy symptoms in chimpanzees include hair loss, plaques and nodules that cover different areas of their body (limbs, trunk and genitals), facial skin hypopigmentation, facial disfigurement as well as ulcerated and deformed hands (claw hand) and feet (Hockings et al, 2021) (Figure 3B). Paucibacillary cases in chimpanzees, where bacterial levels are low, can easily go undetected as minor physical manifestations of leprosy such as localised hair loss are challenging to observe on camera trap footage.…”

Section: Monitoring Leprosy In Chimpanzeesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Developing an Evidence-Based Coexistence Strategy to Promote Human and Wildlife Health in a Biodiverse Agroforest Landscape

Bersacola

Parathian

Frazão-Moreira

et al. 2021

Front. Conserv. Sci.

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Agroforest mosaics represent one of the most extensive human-impacted terrestrial systems worldwide and play an increasingly critical role in wildlife conservation. In such dynamic shared landscapes, coexistence can be compromised if people view wildlife as a source of infectious disease. A cross-disciplinary One Health knowledge base can help to identify evolving proponents and threats to sustainable coexistence and establish long-term project goals. Building on an existing knowledge base of human–wildlife interactions at Cantanhez National Park (NP), Guinea-Bissau, we developed a causal pathway Theory-of-Change approach in response to a newly identified disease threat of leprosy in the Critically Endangered western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus). The goals of our project are to improve knowledge and surveillance of leprosy in humans and wildlife and increase capacity to manage human–wildlife interactions. We describe the core project activities that aim to (1) quantify space use by chimpanzees across Cantanhez NP and determine the distribution of leprosy in chimpanzees; (2) understand the health system and local perceptions of disease; and (3) identify fine-scale risk sites through participatory mapping of resources shared by humans and chimpanzees across target villages. We discuss the development of a biodiversity and health monitoring programme, an evidence-based One Health campaign, and a One Health environmental management plan that incorporates the sharing of space and resources, and the disease implications of human–non-human great ape interactions. We demonstrate the importance of multi-stakeholder engagement, and the development of strategy that fully considers interactions between people, wildlife, and the environment.

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Section: Responding To a Newly Identified Disease Threat In Critically Endangered Western Chimpanzees At Cantanhez Np Guinea-bissaumentioning

confidence: 74%

Section: Responding To a Newly Identified Disease Threat In Critically Endangered Western Chimpanzees At Cantanhez Np Guinea-bissaumentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Monitoring Leprosy In Chimpanzeesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Developing an Evidence-Based Coexistence Strategy to Promote Human and Wildlife Health in a Biodiverse Agroforest Landscape

Bersacola

Parathian

Frazão-Moreira

et al. 2021

Front. Conserv. Sci.

Self Cite

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“…These programs consist of veterinary health evaluations as well as mortality investigation including screening for potential infectious agents [ 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ]. These programs have shown evidence of clinical disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae [ 48 ] and granulomatous lesions in organs caused by a MTBC organism known as M. africanum West Africa 2 or Bacillus Chimpanzee in a chimpanzee [ 14 ], however, no reports of disease caused by M. tb were found in apes screened using molecular techniques. Interestingly, in the Bacillus Chimpanzee report, the authors investigated the possible presence of MTBC in other chimpanzees, including animals form the area and in the same community as the index case.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mycobacterium tuberculosis sensu stricto in African Apes, What Is Its True Health Impact?

Sánchez

Hidalgo-Hermoso

2022

Pathogens

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Since the Symposium on Mycobacterial Infections of Zoo Animals held at the National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution in 1976, our understanding of tuberculosis (TB) in non-domestic animals has greatly expanded. Throughout the past decades, this knowledge has resulted in improved zoo-habitats and facilities design, stricter biosecurity measures, and advanced diagnostic methods, including molecular techniques, that have significantly decreased the number of clinical disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis in apes under human care settings. In the other hand, exponential growth of human populations has led to human encroachment in wildlife habitat which has resulted in increased inter-species contact and recurrent conflict between humans and wild animals. Although it is widely accepted that non-human primates are susceptible to M. tb infection, opinions differ with regard to the susceptibility to develop disease amongst different taxa. Specifically, some authors suggest that African apes are less susceptible to clinical tuberculosis than other species of primates. The aim of this review article is to evaluate the current scientific literature to determine the actual health impact of disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and more specifically Mycobacterium tuberculosis sensu stricto in African apes. The literature review included literature databases: Web of Science, Pubmed, Scopus, Wiley, Springer and Science direct, without temporal limit and proceedings of annual conferences in the field of wildlife health. Our general inclusion criteria included information about serological, molecular, pathological (macroscopic and/or microscopic), and clinical evidence of TB in African apes; while our, our more stringent inclusion selection criteria required that in addition to a gross pathology, a molecular test confirmed Mycobacterium tuberculosis sensu stricto as the cause of disease or death. We identified eleven reports of tuberculosis in African apes; of those, only four reports met the more stringent selection criteria that confirmed M. tb sensu stricto in six individuals. All reports that confirmed M. tb sensu stricto originated from zoological collections. Our review suggests that there is little evidence of disease or mortality caused by M. tb in the different species of African apes both under human care and free ranging populations. Additional studies are needed in free-ranging, semi-captive populations (sanctuaries) and animals under human care (zoos and rescue centers) to definitely conclude that this mycobacteria has a limited health effect in African ape species.

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“…Until now, three non-human wild-life reservoirs of M. leprae have been reported: armadillos in the Americas ( Sharma et al, 2015 ), red squirrels on the British Isles ( Avanzi et al, 2016 ) and various non-human primates in Africa and Asia ( Honap et al, 2018 ; Hockings et al, 2021 ). M. lepromatosis has also been detected in the British red squirrels ( Simpson et al, 2015 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lepra Bubalorum, a Potential Reservoir of Mycobacterium leprae

et al. 2021

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In 1926, a mycobacterial skin disease was observed in water buffaloes by researchers in Indonesia. The disease was designated as skin tuberculosis, though it was hypothesized that it might be a form of leprosy or a leprosy-like disease. In a follow-up study (Ph.D. thesis Lobel, 1934, Utrecht University, Netherlands) a similar nodular skin disease was described in Indonesian water buffaloes and named “lepra bubalorum” or “nodular leprosy.” Two decades later Kraneveld and Roza (1954) reported that, so far, the diagnosis lepra bubalorum had been made in 146 cases in Indonesia. After a final series of research reports by Indonesian veterinarians in 1961, no subsequent cases were published. Based on information from these reports, it can be concluded that, even though evidence of nerve involvement in buffaloes was not reported, similarities exist between lepra bubalorum and Hansen’s disease (leprosy), i.e., nodular skin lesions with a chronic course and microscopically granulomatous reactions with AFB in globi in vacuoles. This raises the question as to whether these historical cases might indeed have been caused by Mycobacterium leprae, Mycobacterium lepromatosis or another representative of the M. leprae complex. The future use of state-of-the-art molecular techniques may answer this question and may also help to answer the question whether water buffaloes should be considered as a potential natural reservoir of the causative pathogen of Hansen’s disease.

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Leprosy in wild chimpanzees

Cited by 39 publications

References 56 publications

Developing an Evidence-Based Coexistence Strategy to Promote Human and Wildlife Health in a Biodiverse Agroforest Landscape

Developing an Evidence-Based Coexistence Strategy to Promote Human and Wildlife Health in a Biodiverse Agroforest Landscape

Mycobacterium tuberculosis sensu stricto in African Apes, What Is Its True Health Impact?

Lepra Bubalorum, a Potential Reservoir of Mycobacterium leprae

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