title: Primates and primatologists: social contexts for interspecies pathogen transmission.
abstract: Humans and nonhuman primates (NHP) interact in a variety of contexts. The frequency, duration, and intensity of interspecies interaction influence the likelihood that contact results in cross-species transmission of infectious agents. In this study, we present results of a cross-sectional survey of attendees at a national conference of primatologists, characterizing their occupational exposures to NHP. Of 116 individuals who participated in the study, 68.1% reported having worked with NHP in a field setting, 68.1% in a laboratory setting, and 24.1% at a zoo or animal sanctuary. Most subjects (N=98, 84.5%) reported having worked with multiple NHP taxa, including 46 (39.7%) who had worked with more than five distinct taxa. Sixty-nine subjects (59.5%) recalled having been scratched by a NHP and 48 (41.1%) had been bitten; 32 subjects reporting being bitten more than once. Eleven subjects (9.5%) reported having been injured by a needle containing NHP tissue or body fluids. We conclude that primatologists are at high risk for exposure to NHP-borne infectious agents. Furthermore, primatologists' varied occupational activities often bring them into contact with multiple NHP species in diverse contexts and geographic areas, over extended periods of time, making them a unique population with respect to zoonotic and anthropozoonotic disease risk.
authors.affiliation: Swedish/Cherry Hill Family Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Engel
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jones-Engel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001733:Bites and Stings; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D006801:Humans; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D018419:Primate Diseases / Q000635:transmission*; D011323:Primates; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012931:Social Environment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000453:epidemiology*