title: A gorilla reservoir for human T-lymphotropic virus type 4.
abstract: Of the seven known species of human retroviruses only one, human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 4 (HTLV-4), lacks a known animal reservoir. We report the largest screening for simian T-cell lymphotropic virus (STLV-4) to date in a wide range of captive and wild non-human primate (NHP) species from Cameroon. Among the 681 wild and 426 captive NHPs examined, we detected STLV-4 infection only among gorillas by using HTLV-4-specific quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The large number of samples analyzed, the diversity of NHP species examined, the geographic distribution of infected animals relative to the known HTLV-4 case, as well as detailed phylogenetic analyses on partial and full genomes, indicate that STLV-4 is endemic to gorillas, and that rather than being an ancient virus among humans, HTLV-4 emerged from a gorilla reservoir, likely through the hunting and butchering of wild gorillas. Our findings shed further light on the importance of gorillas as keystone reservoirs for the evolution and emergence of human infectious diseases and provide a clear course for preventing HTLV-4 emergence through management of human contact with wild gorillas, the development of improved assays for HTLV-4/STLV-4 detection and the ongoing monitoring of STLV-4 among gorillas and for HTLV-4 zoonosis among individuals exposed to gorilla populations.
authors.affiliation: Mosaic, (Environment, Health, Data, Technology) , Yaoundé, Cameroon ; Global Viral Cameroon , BP 7039 Yaounde, Cameroon ; Metabiota , San Francisco, CA 94104, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: LeBreton
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Branch, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, National Center for HIV, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
authors.forename: William M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Switzer
authors.affiliation: Global Viral Cameroon , BP 7039 Yaounde, Cameroon.
authors.forename: Cyrille F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Djoko
authors.affiliation: Global Viral Cameroon , BP 7039 Yaounde, Cameroon ; Metabiota , San Francisco, CA 94104, USA.
authors.forename: Amethyst
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gillis
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Branch, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, National Center for HIV, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
authors.forename: Hongwei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Branch, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, National Center for HIV, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
authors.forename: Michele M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Sturgeon
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Branch, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, National Center for HIV, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
authors.forename: Anupama
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shankar
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Branch, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, National Center for HIV, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
authors.forename: Haoqiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Global Viral Cameroon , BP 7039 Yaounde, Cameroon.
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nkeunen
authors.affiliation: Global Viral Cameroon , BP 7039 Yaounde, Cameroon ; Metabiota , San Francisco, CA 94104, USA.
authors.forename: Ubald
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Tamoufe
authors.affiliation: Global Viral Cameroon , BP 7039 Yaounde, Cameroon.
authors.forename: Ahmadou
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nana
authors.affiliation: Global Viral Cameroon , BP 7039 Yaounde, Cameroon.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Le Doux Diffo
authors.affiliation: Ape Action Africa, Cameroon , BP 20072 Yaounde, Cameroon.
authors.forename: Babila
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tafon
authors.affiliation: Limbe Wildlife Centre , Limbe, Cameroon.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kiyang
authors.affiliation: Metabiota , San Francisco, CA 94104, USA.
authors.forename: Bradley S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Donald S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.affiliation: Metabiota , San Francisco, CA 94104, USA ; Program in Human Biology, Stanford University , Stanford, CA 94305, USA ; Global Viral , San Francisco, CA 94104, USA.
authors.forename: Nathan D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Wolfe
keywords: gorilla; human T-lymphotropic virus; primate; retrovirus; simian T-lymphotropic virus; zoonoses