title: Wild gorillas as a potential reservoir of Leishmania major.
abstract: Vector-borne parasites of the genus Leishmania are responsible for severe human diseases. Cutaneous leishmaniasis, a common form of the disease, is most often caused by the transmission of Leishmania major to humans by female phlebotomine sand ﬂies. Apes are increasingly being seen as a source of zoonotic diseases, including malaria and rickettsiosis. To examine whether gorillas harbor Leishmania species, we screened fecal samples from wild western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in Cameroon for the presence of these pathogens. Of 91 wild gorilla fecal samples, 12 contained Leishmania parasites, and 4 contained phlebotomine sand fly vectors. The molecular identity was determined by running 3 different polymerase chain reaction tests for detection of L. major. Next, fluorescence in situ hybridization was performed to visualize L. major parasites in fecal samples from the gorillas. Both promastigote and amastigote forms of the parasite were found. This work strongly suggests that wild gorillas carry pathogenic Leishmania parasites.
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Marseille.
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hamad
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Marseille.
authors.forename: Claire-Lise
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Forestier
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, University Montpellier 1, UMI 233, France.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peeters
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, University Montpellier 1, UMI 233, France.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Delaporte
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Marseille.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, URMITE, UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, Marseille.
authors.forename: Fadi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bittar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology*; D006071:Gorilla gorilla / Q000469:parasitology*; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D018320:Leishmania major / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan
keywords: FISH; Leishmania major; PCR; detection; feces; gorilla