title: Genetic diversity of simian lentivirus in wild De Brazza's monkeys (Cercopithecus neglectus) in Equatorial Africa.
abstract: De Brazza's monkeys (Cercopithecus neglectus) are non-human primates (NHP) living in Equatorial Africa from South Cameroon through the Congo-Basin to Uganda. As most of the NHP living in sub-Saharan Africa, they are naturally infected with their own simian lentivirus, SIVdeb. Previous studies confirmed this infection for De Brazza's from East Cameroon and Uganda. In this report, we studied the genetic diversity of SIVdeb in De Brazza's monkeys from different geographical areas in South Cameroon and from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). SIVdeb strains from east, central and western equatorial Africa form a species-specific monophyletic lineage. Phylogeographic clustering was observed among SIVdeb strains from Cameroon, the DRC and Uganda, but also among primates from distinct areas in Cameroon. These observations suggest a longstanding virus-host co-evolution. SIVdeb prevalence is high in wild De Brazza's populations and thus represents a current risk for humans exposed to these primates in central Africa.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Retrovirus, IRD - UMR 145 'VIH et Maladies Associées' and the Department of International Health, University of Montpellier I, Montpellier, France. aghokeng@ird.fr
authors.forename: Avelin F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Aghokeng
authors.forename: Ahidjo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ayouba
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahuka
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liegoies
authors.forename: Placide
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mbala
authors.forename: Jean-Jacques
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Muyembe
authors.forename: Eitel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mpoudi-Ngole
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Delaporte
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peeters
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002163:Cameroon / Q000453:epidemiology; D002521:Cercopithecus; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016180:Lentivirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D017958:Lentiviruses, Primate / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D014454:Uganda / Q000453:epidemiology