Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Detected in Mountain Gorilla Respiratory Outbreaks

Respiratory illness (RI) accounts for a large proportion of mortalities in mountain gorillas ( Gorilla beringei beringei ), and fatal outbreaks, including disease caused by human metapneumovirus (HMPV) infections, have heightened concern about the risk of human pathogen transmission to this endanger...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:EcoHealth 2020-12, Vol.17 (4), p.449-460
Main Authors: Mazet, Jonna A. K., Genovese, Brooke N., Harris, Laurie A., Cranfield, Michael, Noheri, Jean Bosco, Kinani, Jean Felix, Zimmerman, Dawn, Bahizi, Methode, Mudakikwa, Antoine, Goldstein, Tracey, Gilardi, Kirsten V. K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Ecology
Biodiversity
Biosecurity
Disease transmission
Ecosystems
Endangered species
Environmental Health
Epidemiology
Feces
Genotypes
Gorillas
Illnesses
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Microbiology
Mountains
Original Contribution
Outbreaks
Polymerase chain reaction
Public Health
Respiratory diseases
Respiratory syncytial virus
Viruses
Water and Health
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Summary:Respiratory illness (RI) accounts for a large proportion of mortalities in mountain gorillas ( Gorilla beringei beringei ), and fatal outbreaks, including disease caused by human metapneumovirus (HMPV) infections, have heightened concern about the risk of human pathogen transmission to this endangered species, which is not only critically important to the biodiversity of its ecosystem but also to the economies of the surrounding human communities. Our goal was to conduct a molecular epidemiologic study to detect the presence of HRSV and HMPV in fecal samples from wild human-habituated free-ranging mountain gorillas in Rwanda and to evaluate the role of these viruses in RI outbreaks. Fecal samples were collected from gorillas with clinical signs of RI between June 2012 and February 2013 and tested by real-time and conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays; comparison fecal samples were obtained from gorillas without clinical signs of RI sampled during the 2010 Virunga gorilla population census. PCR assays detected HMPV and HRSV first in spiked samples; subsequently, HRSV-A, the worldwide-circulating ON1 genotype, was detected in 12 of 20 mountain gorilla fecal samples collected from gorillas with RI during outbreaks, but not in samples from animals without respiratory illness. Our findings confirmed that pathogenic human respiratory viruses are transmitted to gorillas and that they are repeatedly introduced into mountain gorilla populations from people, attesting to the need for stringent biosecurity measures for the protection of gorilla health.
ISSN:1612-9202
1612-9210
DOI:10.1007/s10393-020-01506-8