Chapter 1 - History

Abstract

This chapter outlines the history of primatological knowledge that is generated largely from behavioral and biomedical investigators working independently. The modern use of nonhuman primates in biomedical research has its origin in Pasteur's work with rabies, and the studies of others with smallpox and vaccinia. The extended process that led to the establishment of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Regional Primate Research Centers Program (RPRCP) dates back to 1947 and 1949 when NIH unsuccessfully tried to establish a procurement program to make an adequate supply of chimpanzees available to researchers in the United States. The researchers, clinicians, and technicians continue to add to the progress and developments that have already played an important role in the development of medical primatology. Many chimpanzees were used in the experiments of NIH, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) consortium established to conduct hepatitis research. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome provided a powerful reason for justifying earlier investments in nonhuman primate research and resources. Biotechnology, through developments similar to the transgenic mouse, may provide alternatives to procedures such as neuro-virulence testing and such testing is likely to be better. The use of wild-caught nonhuman primates in research and testing will, of necessity, become history.