Primate-to-Human Retroviral Transmission in Asia

Abstract

We describe the first reported transmission to a human of simian foamy virus (SFV) from a free-ranging population of nonhuman primates in Asia. The transmission of an exogenous retrovirus, SFV, from macaques ( Macaca fascicularis ) to a human at a monkey temple in Bali, Indonesia, was investigated with molecular and serologic techniques. Antibodies to SFV were detected by Western blotting of serum from 1 of 82 humans tested. SFV DNA was detected by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from the blood of the same person. Cloning and sequencing of PCR products confirmed the virus's close phylogenetic relationship to SFV isolated from macaques at the same temple. This study raises concerns that persons who work at or live around monkey temples are at risk for infection with SFV.

Diverse Contexts of Zoonotic Transmission of Simian Foamy Viruses in Asia

“…Study sites, selected for their known human-nonhuman primate contact, were located in 4 countries in South and Southeast Asia: Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal, and Bangladesh. The seroprevalence of SFV among the nonhuman primates at these sites has been reported (9,15,17).…”

“…At-risk populations include veterinarians; laboratory, temple, and zoo workers; pet owners; and bushmeat hunters (16)(17)(18)(19)(20). SFV prevalence in these populations is 1%-6%.…”

“…For PCRs, the primers and conditions described by Schweizer and Neumann-Haefelin were used for pol (24), and those by Jones-Engel et al (17) were used for mitochondrial sequences, with the following modifi cations: an annealing temperature of 52°C was used for 25 cycles in round 1 and for 29 cycles in round 2. For gag PCR, the following oligonucleotide primers were used: round 1 forward primer 5′-AGGATGGTGGGGACCAGCTA-3′, reverse primer 5′-GCTGCCCCTTGGTCAGAGTG-3′; round 2 forward primer 5′-CCTGGATGCAGAGCTGGATC-3′, reverse primer 5′-GAG GGAGCCTTTGTGGGATA-3′.…”

“…Protocols for human subject recruitment, biological sample collection, storage and handling, and collection of ethnographic/epidemiologic data have been described (17). Questionnaires and laboratory databases were analyzed by using NCSS 2004 (Kaysville, UT, USA) databases.…”

Pediculosis in Macaca sylvanus of Gibraltar

“…Though the local Tourist Board, through GONHS and the Gibraltar Veterinary Clinic, has erected signs that explicitly prohibit visitors from feeding macaques many visitors do offer food to the macaques, and some visitors use food to lure macaques onto their head or shoulders (Fuentes, 2006). Previous work on disease transmission between humans and macaques in Asia suggested that transmission of infectious agents both from human-to-macaque and from macaque-to-human occurred in contexts when humans and free-ranging macaques came into contact (Engel et al, 2002;Jones-Engel et al, 2001,2005a. It is hypothesized that macaque bites and scratches as well as mucosal contact with body fluids can lead to crossspecies transmission.…”