A New Approach for Monitoring Ebolavirus in Wild Great Apes

Abstract

BackgroundCentral Africa is a “hotspot” for emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) of global and local importance, and a current outbreak of ebolavirus is affecting multiple countries simultaneously. Ebolavirus is suspected to have caused recent declines in resident great apes. While ebolavirus vaccines have been proposed as an intervention to protect apes, their effectiveness would be improved if we could diagnostically confirm Ebola virus disease (EVD) as the cause of die-offs, establish ebolavirus geographical distribution, identify immunologically naïve populations, and determine whether apes survive virus exposure.Methodology/Principal findingsHere we report the first successful noninvasive detection of antibodies against Ebola virus (EBOV) from wild ape feces. Using this method, we have been able to identify gorillas with antibodies to EBOV with an overall prevalence rate reaching 10% on average, demonstrating that EBOV exposure or infection is not uniformly lethal in this species. Furthermore, evidence of antibodies was identified in gorillas thought previously to be unexposed to EBOV (protected from exposure by rivers as topological barriers of transmission).Conclusions/SignificanceOur new approach will contribute to a strategy to protect apes from future EBOV infections by early detection of increased incidence of exposure, by identifying immunologically naïve at-risk populations as potential targets for vaccination, and by providing a means to track vaccine efficacy if such intervention is deemed appropriate. Finally, since human EVD is linked to contact with infected wildlife carcasses, efforts aimed at identifying great ape outbreaks could have a profound impact on public health in local communities, where EBOV causes case-fatality rates of up to 88%.

Ebola in great apes – current knowledge, possibilities for vaccination, and implications for conservation and human health

“…, Reed et al. ). Survival of individuals in great ape groups whose other members have died of Ebola also suggests that recovery is possible (Formenty et al.…”

“…, , Reed et al. ). However, in the case of repeated outbreaks and added pressure from other infectious diseases, bushmeat hunting and deforestation, these recovery strategies might not be sufficient to prevent extinction (Leendertz et al.…”

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

“…Murray et al 2013). Les agents pathogènes et les anticorps produits contre ces agents peuvent être décelés dans les échantillons de fèces Kaiser et al 2010 ;Köndgen et al 2010 ;Prugnolle et al 2010 ;Reed et al 2014). La salive trouvée sur un aliment partiellement consommé et abandonné peut fournir des informations sur des agents pathogènes spécifiques (Schaumburg et al 2013 ;Smiley Evans et al 2015).…”

“…Des nouveaux outils permettant de déceler la présence d'anticorps contre Ebolavirus dans les fèces de chimpanzés et de gorilles peuvent nous aider à mieux cerner le niveau d'exposition d'une population (Reed et al 2014 ;voir aussi UICN 2014).…”

The Status of Captive Apes

“…It is vital, therefore, to promote good sanitary and health standards of people living near ape populations, and to implement a thorough health monitoring program of the wild populations that are in close contact with humans. Failure to do so can have catastrophic consequences (Köndgen et al, 2008;Humle, 2011a;Reed et al, 2014).…”