Chimpanzee Die-Off - Tanzania (Kingdom)

[FluBossie]

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/promed..._ID:1000,35002

Archive Number 20061029.3098
Published Date 29-OCT-2006
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Chimpanzee die-off - Tanzania (Kingdom)

CHIMPANZEE DIE-OFF - TANZANIA (KIGOMA)
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Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006

From: ProMED-mail

Source: IPP Media / Guardian [edited]
<HTTP: 74405.html 14 09 2006 guardian ipp www.ippmedia.com>

[This posting was delayed pending literature search for reports of
human-to-ape disease transmission. - Mod.JW]


A renowned American wildlife conservationist has expressed fears that
the rare chimpanzee species found in western Tanzania could become
extinct as a result of a mysterious disease that [is] decimating the
primate genus in large numbers.

The scientist, Dr Magdalena Lukasik-Braum, known for her research on
wildlife in the country, said the rare species at Mahale Mountain
National Park in Kigoma Region would become extinct if the disease is
not checked.

"The deadly disease that recently claimed scores of the rare monkey
species in Mahale Mountain National Park is still ravaging them after
5 more died. The situation is critical because the animals are
threatened with extinction. Its current population is less than 50,"
Dr Lukasik-Braum said, after concluding research on the chimpanzees.
[This quote can't be verbatim; she would never have called a
chimpanzee a monkey -- it's an ape. - Mod.JW]

"Some of the threats to these ape populations are similar to those
affecting other wildlife in the region (East and Central Africa):
political instability in the countries where they are found, habitat
destruction and bush-meat trade," Dr Lukasik-Braum noted.

But there is an additional factor that affects apes, especially
chimpanzees, more than any other animal -- human diseases. She said
the chimpanzees are genetically so close to people that they are
susceptible to almost all germs which affect humans.

Dr Lukasik-Braum said since Tanzania is recognized worldwide for its
political stability and safety, and the chimp meat trade is
non-existent there, human diseases, especially respiratory ones, are
by far the biggest threat to habituated chimpanzees [meaning those
which are used to being studied at close quarters in their natural
habitat. - Mod.JW]

"Respiratory outbreaks occur with alarming regularity nearly every
year, usually in June/July, when large numbers of staff and visitors
enter the forest after the rainy season," she said. "Many
chimpanzees are affected and every year at least a few of them,
usually the youngest, die," she said. She explained that every few
years, exceptionally bad outbreaks kill the chimpanzees. Such was the
case with the recent deadly disease outbreak in Mahale, which claimed
as many as 12 chimpanzees, she said.

[Byline: Adam Ihucha]

--
ProMED-mail




[See locator maps at
Park map at:
Park photo:

The scientific name of the rare species is not given, but the Eastern
race of _Pan troglodytes_ is ranked as vulnerable, one step above
endangered. There is no evidence in this report that the chimps died
from a human disease. However, the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary
Project, based in Ruhengeri, Rwanda, investigated 100 gorilla deaths
dating back to 1968. Respiratory diseases, including influenza A and
parainfluenza viruses, killed 24 of the animals. To reduce the risk
of human-to-ape transmission, eco-tourists who trek to see the
gorillas in the wild already have to stay at least 7 meters away, and
keep their visits to no more than an hour -- see 2005 ProMED
reference below. The transmission of scabies from humans to wild
chimpanzees has been reported from Tanzania -- see 1997 ProMED ref. below.

Infection of chimps in captivity is another matter. Human respiratory
syncytial virus (HRSV) was originally isolated as "chimpanzee coryza
virus" and only later found to be a cause of severe disease in human
infants -- see ref.1. Pneumonia and tuberculosis are reported to be
problems in non-human primate colonies -- see ref.2. Pneumococcal
illness following parainfluenza type 3 virus infection has been seen
in chimpanzees in a primate rehabilitation unit -- see ref.3. All
alphaherpesviruses isolated from apes up to 1980 were proven to be
human viruses -- herpes simplex virus types 1 (HSV1) and 2 (HSV2) or
varicella-zoster virus -- see ref. 4 & 5. There is an anecdotal
report of measles in chimps.

However, all these infections are in apes that have had close contact
with humans over prolonged periods, quite unlike the situation in the
open in this National Park, assuming they take the same precautions
as for the gorillas in Rwanda. There is, of course, the possibility
that the researchers in this park may take sick or wounded chimps
into their camp for medical treatment, bringing them into much
closer contact with humans.

References from PubMed:

1. Clarke CJ, Watt NJ, Meredith A, McIntyre N, Burns SM. Respiratory
syncytial virus-associated bronchopneumonia in a young chimpanzee. J
Comp Pathol. 1994 Feb;110(2):207-12.

2. Broncyk LH, Kalter SS. Bacteriological findings in a nonhuman
primate colony. Dev Biol Stand. 1980;45:23-8.

3. Jones EE, Alford PL, Reingold AL, Russell H, Keeling ME, Broome
CV. Predisposition to invasive pneumococcal illness following
parainfluenza type 3 virus infection in chimpanzees. J Am Vet Med
Assoc. 1984 Dec 1;185(11):1351-3.

4. Luebcke E, Dubovi E, Black D, Ohsawa K, Eberle R. Isolation and
characterization of a chimpanzee alphaherpesvirus. J Gen Virol. 2006
Jan;87(Pt 1):11-9.

5. McClure HM, Swenson RB, Kalter SS, Lester TL. Natural genital
herpesvirus hominis infection in chimpanzees (_Pan troglodytes_ and
_Pan paniscus_). Lab Anim Sci. 1980 Oct;30(5):895-901.
- Mods.JW/CP].

[see also:
2005
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Respiratory infections, fatal, gorillas - Africa 20050715.2019
2003
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Hepatitis A - Russia (Omsk): waterborne (02) 20031112.2804
1997
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Scabies, chimpanzees - Tanzania (Gombe Nat. Park) (02) 19971224.2542
Scabies, chimpanzees - Tanzania (Gombe National Park) 19971219.2509]
.............................mpp/cp/arn/pg/jw

[Sharpe]

Re: Chimpanzee Die-Off - Tanzania (Kingdom)

For what it's worth, below is a report released on August 18th, from the same general vicinity of Lake Tanganyika. There have been similar reports from western Congo, northeastern and southwestern India, northern Thailand and western Costa Rica over the last year.

http://www.andnetwork.com/index?serv...tory&sp=l49738 Rare disease kills Tanzanian chimpanzees August 18, 2006, 6 hours, 1 minute and 15 seconds ago. By ANDnetwork .com

A mysterious disease has killed 20 chimpanzees of a rare species found in Mahale Mountains National Park in Kigoma Region, the Tanzania National Parks Authority said. By Adam Ihucha The animals, with peculiar physical features and colour, died in just one week. The primates natural habitat is 120km south of Kigoma on a peninsula that cuts into Lake Tanganyika. "In just one week, 20 pink chimpanzees were found dead in the sanctuary and their carcasses pointed to the possibility that they may have died of a pneumonia-like disease," Tanapa director general Gerald Bigurube said. As investigations into the cause of the deaths got underway, there were fears that adaptation could also be one of the causes of the deaths. Some officials from Tanzania National Parks Authority (Tanapa) related the deaths of the primates to Charles Darwin?s evolution theories of "survival of the fittest and elimination of the unfit" and "natural selection" to balance between the animal population and the natural habitat. "Mahale Mountains National Park is one of the largest in the country and home to over 600 chimpanzees," Bigurube said. He said other sanctuaries in the region, Gombe and Rubondo national parks, have similar species. Asked whether the deaths of the animals would affect the tourist industry in the area, Bigurube said the situation needs to be contained to avert a crisis. The Tanapa boss maintained that the chimpanzees deaths are a common phenomenon. However, fear spread among scientists that the deaths could herald the beginning of the extinction of a species categorised by Tanapa as endangered. A scientist and researcher based in Mahale Mountains Park, Dr Magdalena Lusakile, called for immediate measures to save the chimpanzees. Dr Magdalena said the attention of scientists from Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (Tawiri) and Tanzania National Park Authority (Tanapa) is of great importance at the moment to rescue the primates from further deaths. She said scientists were researching on the cause of the deaths, adding that the deaths of the animals were discovered during routine inspection of Mahale National Park. Less than 1 000 pink chimpanzees are believed to live in the wild, nearly 600 of them in Mahale Mountains National Park, which covers 1 000 square kilometres in western Tanzania. Conservationists say the rare chimpanzee?s population has decreased from 15 000 in 1970 to less than 1 500. A chimpanzee?s life expectancy ranges between 50 and 60 years. They stand at four and five feet and weigh between 100 and 120 pounds, while their muscular strength is five times that of an adult human being.