Ebola Of Apes and Men
Abstract & Commentary
Synopsis: An outbreak of human Ebola virus infection in Congo was preceded by a die-off of great apes, with the virus having been recovered from some ape carcasses.
Source: http://www.promedmail.org.
As of March 16, 2003, a total of 120 cases, including 108 deaths, of Ebola hemorrhagic fever had been reported in the districts of Mbomo and Kelle in the Cuvette Ouest Region of the Republic of Congo. While the Congoles Ministry of Health, WHO, and the international team from the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, as well as the national Red Cross Society, have responded, their activities are limited in some areas by the belief of many villagers that occult forces were at work. Residents of some villages ran from health care workers and a local official reported that villagers had stoned and beaten to death 4 teachers accused of casting an evil spell that caused the outbreak.
Comment by Stan Deresinski, MD, FACP
At least 73 deaths were caused by Ebola during an outbreak in this same region of northern Congo and adjacent areas of Gabon that occurred from October 2001 to February 2002. A contemporaneous die-off of great apes occurred in the same area, and Ebola virus was recovered from one carcass. It was established that some affected humans had handled fresh ape carcasses prior to becoming ill.
The die-off of great apes appears to have been a continuation of an event that had been going on for a decade and which has devastated the population of lowland gorillas and chimpanzees in the Lossi Gorilla Sanctuary. Prior to the current human outbreak of Ebola, it was reported that 8 families, comprised of 139 individual gorillas that had been monitored since 1994, had disappeared from the study area. Dead apes were detected beginning on November 26, 2002, and Ebola virus was identified in samples obtained in mid-December from carcasses of all 4 gorillas and 2 chimpanzees studied.
Many people, including approximately 3000 pygmies in the area, live by hunting monkeys and apes in this area that is believed to be home to 80% of the world’s remaining lowland gorillas. Transmission to humans is speculated to occur by exposure to infected carcasses and preparation of the primate meat as food.
The evidence is thus accumulating that Ebola infection may be a zoonosis, transmitted by contact with the infected blood and flesh of chimpanzees and gorillas. It is likely, however, that both are accidental hosts and that the virus is maintained in an as yet undetermined reservoir. Identification of that reservoir remains critical to dealing effectively with this disease.
Dr. Deresinski is Clinical Professor of Medicine, Stanford; Associate Chief of Infectious Diseases, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center
An outbreak of human Ebola virus infection in Congo was preceded by a die-off of great apes, with the virus having been recovered from some ape carcasses.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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