title: Novel simian foamy virus infections from multiple monkey species in women from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Zoonotic transmission of simian retroviruses in Central Africa is ongoing and can result in pandemic human infection. While simian foamy virus (SFV) infection was reported in primate hunters in Cameroon and Gabon, little is known about the distribution of SFV in Africa and whether human-to-human transmission and disease occur. We screened 3,334 plasmas from persons living in rural villages in central Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) using SFV-specific EIA and Western blot (WB) tests. PCR amplification of SFV polymerase sequences from DNA extracted from buffy coats was used to measure proviral loads. Phylogenetic analysis was used to define the NHP species origin of SFV. Participants completed questionnaires to capture NHP exposure information.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixteen (0.5%) samples were WB-positive; 12 of 16 were from women (75%, 95% confidence limits 47.6%, 92.7%). Sequence analysis detected SFV in three women originating from Angolan colobus or red-tailed monkeys; both monkeys are hunted frequently in DRC. NHP exposure varied and infected women lived in distant villages suggesting a wide and potentially diverse distribution of SFV infections across DRC. Plasmas from 22 contacts of 8 WB-positive participants were all WB negative suggesting no secondary viral transmission. Proviral loads in the three women ranged from 14 - 1,755 copies/105 cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study documents SFV infection in rural DRC for the first time and identifies infections with novel SFV variants from Colobus and red-tailed monkeys. Unlike previous studies, women were not at lower risk for SFV infection in our population, providing opportunities for spread of SFV both horizontally and vertically. However, limited testing of close contacts of WB-positive persons did not identify human-to-human transmission. Combined with the broad behavioral risk and distribution of NHPs across DRC, our results suggest that SFV infection may have a wider geographic distribution within DRC. These results also reinforce the potential for an increased SFV prevalence throughout the forested regions of Africa where humans and simians co-exist. Our finding of endemic foci of SFV infection in DRC will facilitate longitudinal studies to determine the potential for person-to-person transmissibility and pathogenicity of these zoonotic retroviral infections.
authors.affiliation: Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. bswitzer@cdc.gov
authors.forename: William M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Switzer
authors.forename: Shaohua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahuka-Mundeke
authors.forename: Anupama
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shankar
authors.forename: Debra L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Hanson
authors.forename: HaoQiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Ahidjo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ayouba
authors.forename: Nathan D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Wolfe
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: LeBreton
authors.forename: Cyrille F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Djoko
authors.forename: Ubald
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Tamoufe
authors.forename: Amandine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Esteban
authors.forename: Walid
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Heneine
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peeters
authors.forename: Linda L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Jean Jacques
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Muyembe-Tamfum
authors.forename: Emile Okitolonda
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Wemakoy
authors.forename: Prime
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mulembakani
authors.forename: Nicole A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Hoff
authors.forename: Anne W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Rimoin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003104:Colobus; D003223:Congo; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008875:Middle Aged; D008992:Monkey Diseases / Q000635:transmission*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012192:Retroviridae Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D053150:Simian foamy virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019562:Viral Load; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000635:transmission