title: Pandemic human viruses cause decline of endangered great apes.
abstract: Commercial hunting and habitat loss are major drivers of the rapid decline of great apes [1]. Ecotourism and research have been widely promoted as a means of providing alternative value for apes and their habitats [2]. However, close contact between humans and habituated apes during ape tourism and research has raised concerns that disease transmission risks might outweigh benefits [3-7]. To date only bacterial and parasitic infections of typically low virulence have been shown to move from humans to wild apes [8, 9]. Here, we present the first direct evidence of virus transmission from humans to wild apes. Tissue samples from habituated chimpanzees that died during three respiratory-disease outbreaks at our research site, Côte d'Ivoire, contained two common human paramyxoviruses. Viral strains sampled from chimpanzees were closely related to strains circulating in contemporaneous, worldwide human epidemics. Twenty-four years of mortality data from observed chimpanzees reveal that such respiratory outbreaks could have a long history. In contrast, survey data show that research presence has had a strong positive effect in suppressing poaching around the research site. These observations illustrate the challenge of maximizing the benefit of research and tourism to great apes while minimizing the negative side effects.
authors.affiliation: Robert Koch-Institut, Nordufer 20, D-13353 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Köndgen
authors.forename: Hjalmar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kühl
authors.forename: Paul K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: N'Goran
authors.forename: Peter D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.forename: Svenja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schenk
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ernst
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Biek
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Formenty
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mätz-Rensing
authors.forename: Brunhilde
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schweiger
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Junglen
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ellerbrok
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nitsche
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Briese
authors.forename: W Ian
authors.initials: WI
authors.lastname: Lipkin
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pauli
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boesch
authors.forename: Fabian H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Leendertz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018420:Ape Diseases / Q000401:mortality / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D007560:Cote d'Ivoire / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D029121:Metapneumovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002679:Pan troglodytes / Q000821:virology*; D018357:Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000662:veterinary*; D012136:Respiratory Syncytial Viruses / Q000302:isolation & purification*