Abstract
Humans are considered as the main host for Mycobacterium leprae1, the aetiological agent of leprosy, but spillover has occurred to other mammals that are now maintenance hosts, such as nine-banded armadillos and red squirrels2,3. Although naturally acquired leprosy has also been described in captive nonhuman primates4–7, the exact origins of infection remain unclear. Here we describe leprosy-like lesions in two wild populations of western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in Cantanhez National Park, Guinea-Bissau and Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa. Longitudinal monitoring of both populations revealed the progression of disease symptoms compatible with advanced leprosy. Screening of faecal and necropsy samples confirmed the presence of M. leprae as the causative agent at each site and phylogenomic comparisons with other strains from humans and other animals show that the chimpanzee strains belong to different and rare genotypes (4N/O and 2F). These findings suggest that M. leprae may be circulating in more wild animals than suspected, either as a result of exposure to humans or other unknown environmental sources.
Highlights
Leprosy-causing bacteria were once thought to be obligate human pathogens[1]
One out of 208 DNA extracts from Cantanhez National Park (CNP) was positive in both assays and a second was positive only in the more sensitive RLEP-PCR19 (Extended Data Table 2, Supplementary Table 2 and Supplementary Note 3)
Our results suggest that M. leprae is the most likely cause of a leprosy-like syndrome in chimpanzees from CNP
Summary
Leprosy-causing bacteria were once thought to be obligate human pathogens[1]. they can circulate in other animal hosts in the wild, such as nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) in the Americas and red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) in the UK2,3. We report leprosy infections and their disease course in two wild populations of western chimpanzees (P. troglodytes verus) in Cantanhez National Park (CNP), Guinea-Bissau, and in Taï National Park (TNP), Côte d’Ivoire, using a combination of camera trap and veterinary monitoring (Extended Data Fig. 1a and Supplementary Notes 1 and 2).
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