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Viruses closely related to human pathogens can reveal the origins of human infectious diseases. Human herpes simplexvirus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) are hypothesized to have arisen via host-virus codivergence and cross-species transmission. We report the discovery of novel herpes simplexviruses during a large-scale screening of fecal samples from wild gorillas, bonobos, and chimpanzees. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that, contrary to expectation, simplexviruses from these African apes are all more closely related to HSV-2 than to HSV-1. Molecular clock-based hypothesis testing suggests the divergence between HSV-1 and the African great ape simplexviruses likely represents a codivergence event between humans and gorillas. The simplexviruses infecting African great apes subsequently experienced multiple cross-species transmission events over the past 3 My, the most recent of which occurred between humans and bonobos around 1 Ma. These findings revise our understanding of the origins of human herpes simplexviruses and suggest that HSV-2 is one of the earliest zoonotic pathogens.

Despite being important conservation tools, tourism and research may cause transmission of pathogens to wild great apes. Investigating respiratory disease outbreaks in wild bonobos, we identified human respiratory syncytial virus and Streptococcus pneumoniae as causative agents. A One Health approach to disease control should become part of great ape programs. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s10393-018-1319-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Anthrax is a globally important animal disease and zoonosis. Despite this, our current knowledge of anthrax ecology is largely limited to arid ecosystems, where outbreaks are most commonly reported. Here we show that the dynamics of an anthrax-causing agent, Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis, in a tropical rainforest have severe consequences for local wildlife communities. Using data and samples collected over three decades, we show that rainforest anthrax is a persistent and widespread cause of death for a broad range of mammalian hosts. We predict that this pathogen will accelerate the decline and possibly result in the extirpation of local chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) populations. We present the epidemiology of a cryptic pathogen and show that its presence has important implications for conservation.

The swallowing of entire leaves by apes across Africa without chewing has been observed for over 40 plant species. Here we add evidence for (a) a new site, LuiKotale where leaf-swallowing of Manniophyton fulvum (Euphorbiaceae) is observed in bonobos, (b) a so far unreported ingestion of unchewed stemstrips of M. fulvum, we name stemstrip-swallowing;and (c) a test of some of the requirements put forward by Huffman for the assessment of plants ingested for medical purpose. As ecological correlates we analyzed M. fulvum phenological data and examined 1,094 dung piles collected between 2002 and 2009. By that we assessed availability and choice of leaves. In addition, we provide the first full description of the behavior related to this plant species' use by chimpanzees or bonobos using 56 bouts of M. fulvum ingestion observed between October 2007 and February 2010. With these data we tested and met 4 of the 6 requirements given by Huffman, supporting ingestion of this species as self-medication. Despite species' year-round availability and abundance, M. fulvum was ingested only at specific times, in very small amounts, and by a small proportion of individuals per party. In the absence of our own parasitological data, we used M. fulvum swallowing as evidence for parasite infestation, and seasonality as a proxy for stressors underlying seasonal fluctuation and impacting immune responses. Using these indirect factors available, we investigated conditions for a parasite to develop to its infective stage as well as conditions for the host to cope with infections. Both rain and temperature were good predictors for M. fulvum ingestion. We discuss the use of M. fulvum with respect to its hispidity and subsequent purging properties and provide insight into its ethnomedicinal uses by humans, stimulating speculations about potentially additional pharmacological effects. Am. J. Primatol. 76:146-158, 2014. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Large-scale monitoring schemes are essential in assessing global mammalian biodiversity, and in this framework, leeches have recently been promoted as an indirect source of DNA from terrestrial mammal species. Carrion feeding flies are ubiquitous and can be expected to feed on many vertebrate carcasses. Hence, we tested whether fly-derived DNA analysis may also serve as a novel tool for mammalian diversity surveys. We screened DNA extracted from 201 carrion flies collected in tropical habitats of Côte d'Ivoire and Madagascar for mammal DNA using multiple PCR systems and retrieved DNA sequences from a diverse set of species (22 in Côte d'Ivoire, four in Madagascar) exploiting distinct forest strata and displaying a broad range of body sizes. Deep sequencing of amplicons generated from pools of flies performed equally well as individual sequencing approaches. We conclude that the analysis of fly-derived DNA can be implemented in a very rapid and cost-effective manner and will give a relatively unbiased picture of local mammal diversity. Carrion flies therefore represent an extraordinary and thus far unexploited resource of mammal DNA, which will probably prove useful for future inventories of wild mammal communities.

Adenoviruses (AdVs) broadly infect vertebrate hosts, including a variety of nonhuman primates (NHPs). In the present study, we identified AdVs in NHPs living in their natural habitats, and through the combination of phylogenetic analyses and information on the habitats and epidemiological settings, we detected possible horizontal transmission events between NHPs and humans. Wild NHPs were analyzed with a pan-primate AdV-specific PCR using a degenerate nested primer set that targets the highly conserved adenovirus DNA polymerase gene. A plethora of novel AdV sequences were identified, representing at least 45 distinct AdVs. From the AdV-positive individuals, 29 nearly complete hexon genes were amplified and, based on phylogenetic analysis, tentatively allocated to all known human AdV species ( Human adenovirus A to Human adenovirus G [HAdV-A to -G]) as well as to the only simian AdV species ( Simian adenovirus A [SAdV-A]). Interestingly, five of the AdVs detected in great apes grouped into the HAdV-A, HAdV-D, HAdV-F, or SAdV-A clade. Furthermore, we report the first detection of AdVs in New World monkeys, clustering at the base of the primate AdV evolutionary tree. Most notably, six chimpanzee AdVs of species HAdV-A to HAdV-F revealed a remarkably close relationship to human AdVs, possibly indicating recent interspecies transmission events.

We isolated a monkeypox virus from a wild-living monkey, a sooty mangabey, found dead in Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire, in March 2012. The whole-genome sequence obtained from this isolate and directly from clinical specimens showed its close relationship to monkeypox viruses from Western Africa.

Emergence of viruses into the human population by transmission from nonhuman primates (NHPs) represents a serious potential threat to human health that is primarily associated with the increased bushmeat trade. Transmission of RNA viruses across primate species appears to be relatively frequent. In contrast, DNA viruses appear to be largely host specific, suggesting low transmission potential. Herein, we use a primate predator-prey system to study the risk of herpesvirus transmission between different primate species in the wild. The system was comprised of western chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes verus ) and their primary (western red colobus, Piliocolobus badius badius ) and secondary (black-and-white colobus, Colobus polykomos ) prey monkey species. NHP species were frequently observed to be coinfected with multiple beta- and gammaherpesviruses (including new cytomegalo- and rhadinoviruses). However, despite frequent exposure of chimpanzees to blood, organs, and bones of their herpesvirus-infected monkey prey, there was no evidence for cross-species herpesvirus transmission. These findings suggest that interspecies transmission of NHP beta- and gammaherpesviruses is, at most, a rare event in the wild.

The swallowing of entire leaves by apes across Africa without chewing has been observed for over 40 plant species. Here we add evidence for (a) a new site, LuiKotale where leaf-swallowing of Manniophyton fulvum (Euphorbiaceae) is observed in bonobos, (b) a so far unreported ingestion of unchewed stemstrips of M. fulvum, we name stemstrip-swallowing; and (c) a test of some of the requirements put forward by Huffman for the assessment of plants ingested for medical purpose. As ecological correlates we analyzed M. fulvum phenological data and examined 1,094 dung piles collected between 2002 and 2009. By that we assessed availability and choice of leaves. In addition, we provide the first full description of the behavior related to this plant species' use by chimpanzees or bonobos using 56 bouts of M. fulvum ingestion observed between October 2007 and February 2010. With these data we tested and met 4 of the 6 requirements given by Huffman, supporting ingestion of this species as self-medication. Despite species' year-round availability and abundance, M. fulvum was ingested only at specific times, in very small amounts, and by a small proportion of individuals per party. In the absence of our own parasitological data, we used M. fulvum swallowing as evidence for parasite infestation, and seasonality as a proxy for stressors underlying seasonal fluctuation and impacting immune responses. Using these indirect factors available, we investigated conditions for a parasite to develop to its infective stage as well as conditions for the host to cope with infections. Both rain and temperature were good predictors for M. fulvum ingestion. We discuss the use of M. fulvum with respect to its hispidity and subsequent purging properties and provide insight into its ethnomedicinal uses by humans, stimulating speculations about potentially additional pharmacological effects.

We performed 796 dip-stick tests on urine from 100 wild West African chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) from 4 habituated groups in the tropical rain forest of Tai National Park, Cote d'Ivoire, to establish reference values for health monitoring. Specific gravity was also measured on 359 urine samples from 62 chimpanzees. The effect of age, sex, group, month, estrus, pregnancy, meat consumption, and acute respiratory disease on pH, leucocytes, protein, blood, hemoglobin, and glucose was examined using ordinal logistic regression. The presence of nitrite, ketones, bilirubin, and urobilinogen in urine was also recorded. Outbreak of acute respiratory disease did not influence any of the urinary parameters. Thirty-seven percent of the samples had a pH