Anthrax kills wild chimpanzees in a tropical rainforest

Fabian H. Leendertz, Heinz Ellerbrok (), Christophe Boesch, Emmanuel Couacy-Hymann, Kerstin Mätz-Rensing, Regine Hakenbeck, Carina Bergmann, Pola Abaza, Sandra Junglen, Yasmin Moebius, Linda Vigilant, Pierre Formenty and Georg Pauli
Additional contact information
Fabian H. Leendertz: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Heinz Ellerbrok: Robert Koch-Institut
Christophe Boesch: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Emmanuel Couacy-Hymann: Lanada/Lcpa
Kerstin Mätz-Rensing: German Primate Center
Regine Hakenbeck: University of Kaiserslautern, Paul-Ehrlich-Straße
Carina Bergmann: University of Kaiserslautern, Paul-Ehrlich-Straße
Pola Abaza: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Sandra Junglen: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Yasmin Moebius: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Linda Vigilant: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Pierre Formenty: World Health Organisation, WHO Office
Georg Pauli: Robert Koch-Institut

Nature, 2004, vol. 430, issue 6998, 451-452

Abstract: Abstract Infectious disease has joined habitat loss and hunting as threats to the survival of the remaining wild populations of great apes. Nevertheless, relatively little is known about the causative agents1,2,3. We investigated an unusually high number of sudden deaths observed over nine months in three communities of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in the Taï National Park, Ivory Coast. Here we report combined pathological, cytological and molecular investigations that identified Bacillus anthracis as the cause of death for at least six individuals. We show that anthrax can be found in wild non-human primates living in a tropical rainforest, a habitat not previously known to harbour B. anthracis. Anthrax is an acute disease that infects ruminants4,5, but other mammals, including humans, can be infected through contacting or inhaling high doses of spores or by consuming meat from infected animals6. Respiratory and gastrointestinal anthrax are characterized by rapid onset, fever, septicaemia and a high fatality rate without early antibiotic treatment6,7. Our results suggest that epidemic diseases represent substantial threats to wild ape populations, and through bushmeat consumption also pose a hazard to human health.

Date: 2004
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DOI: 10.1038/nature02722

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