title: [Leprosy in a chimpanzee].
abstract: Leprosy is suspected to develop after a long period of latency following infection with Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae) during infancy, but definitive proof has been lacking. We found a rare case of leprosy in a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) born in West Africa (Sierra Leone) and brought to Japan around 2 years of age. At 31, the ape started exhibiting pathognomic signs of leprosy. Pathological diagnosis, skin smear, serum anti-phenolic glycolipid-I (PGL-I) antibody, and by PCR analysis demonstrated lepromatous leprosy. Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis verified the West African origin of the bacilli. This occurrence suggests the possibility of leprosy being endemic among wild chimpanzees in West Africa, potentially posing a zoonotic risk.
authors.affiliation: Leprosy Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan. norishii@nih.go.jp
authors.forename: Norihisa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.forename: Toshifumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Udono
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujisawa
authors.forename: Genichi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Idani
authors.forename: Kazunari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanigawa
authors.forename: Tatsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyamura
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000354:Africa, Western; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D018420:Ape Diseases; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000276:immunology; D007918:Leprosy / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000235:genetics; D002679:Pan troglodytes; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D015047:Zoonoses
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D015415:Biomarkers; D006017:Glycolipids; C045169:phenolic glycolipid I, Mycobacterium leprae