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Muhangi D, Gardiner CH, Ojok L, Cranfield MR, Gilardi KVK, Mudakikwa AB, Lowenstine LJ. Pathological lesions of the digestive tract in free-ranging mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). Am J Primatol 2021; 83:e23290. [PMID: 34096629 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
The finding of parasites and bacterial pathogens in mountain gorilla feces and oral lesions in gorilla skeletal remains has not been linked to pathological evidence of morbidity or mortality. In the current study, we conducted a retrospective study of digestive tracts including oral cavity, salivary glands, esophagus, stomach, intestines (gastrointestinal tract [GI]), liver, and pancreas of 60 free-ranging mountain gorillas from Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo that died between 1985 and 2007. We reviewed clinical histories and gross pathology reports and examined histological sections. On histology, enteritis (58.6%), gastritis (37.3%), and colitis (29.3%) were the commonest lesions in the tracts. Enteritis and colitis were generally mild, and judged likely to have been subclinical. Gastritis was often chronic and proliferative or ulcerative, and associated with nematodiasis. A gastro-duodenal malignancy (carcinoid) was present in one animal. A number of incidental lesions were identified throughout the tract and cestodes and nematodes were frequently observed grossly and/or histologically. Pigmentation of teeth and tongue were a common finding, but periodontitis and dental attrition were less common than reported from past studies of skeletal remains. Despite observing numerous GI lesions and parasites in this study of deceased free-living mountain gorillas, we confirmed mortality attributable to gastroenteritis in just 8% (5/60) cases, which is less than that described in captive gorillas. Other deaths attributed to digestive tract lesions included cleft palate in an infant, periodontal disease causing systemic infection in an older adult and gastric cancer. Of all the parasitic infections observed, only hepatic capillariasis and gastric nematodiasis were significantly associated with lesions (hepatitis and gastritis, respectively). Understanding GI lesions in this endangered species is key in the management of morbidity associated with GI ailments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis Muhangi
- Department of Wildlife and Aquatic Resources Management, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Resources, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Chris H Gardiner
- Veterinary Pathology Service, Joint Pathology Center, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
| | - Lonzy Ojok
- School of Biolaboratory Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.,Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Gulu University, Gulu, Uganda
| | - Michael R Cranfield
- Gorilla Doctors, MGVP, Inc. and Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, University of California-Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | - Kirsten V K Gilardi
- Gorilla Doctors, MGVP, Inc. and Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, University of California-Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | | | - Linda J Lowenstine
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California-Davis, Davis, California, USA
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Esmail MY, Bacon R, Swennes AG, Feng Y, Shen Z, Garcia A, Sharma P, Cohen J, Fox JG. Helicobacter Species Identified in Captive Sooty Mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) with Metastatic Gastric Adenocarcinoma. Helicobacter 2016; 21:175-85. [PMID: 26477442 PMCID: PMC4837085 DOI: 10.1111/hel.12269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Of all human cancers, gastric carcinoma is the one of the leading causes of death. Helicobacter pylori is considered a major etiologic agent of this disease. Spontaneously occurring gastric carcinoma is a rare diagnosis in nonhuman primates. A 2011 case report documented a high incidence of gastric adenocarcinoma in a closed colony of captive sooty mangabeys (Cercebus atys). However, H. pylori infection was not detected in these animals. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, using archived formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded stomach sections of these animals alternative methodologies were used to identify H. pylori and other non-H. pylori Helicobacter species. In addition, two additional cases of sooty mangabeys with metastatic gastric carcinoma are characterized. RESULTS Using fluorescent in situ hybridization, we identified gastric H. suis in 75% of archived and new gastric carcinoma cases. In the two newly reported cases, H. suis and a novel Helicobacter species were detected via PCR and sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene. H. pylori was not identified in any of the gastric carcinoma cases via FISH and/or PCR and sequence analysis of Helicobacter spp. in DNA from of available tissues. CONCLUSIONS This report is the first to characterize Helicobacter species infection in spontaneous gastric carcinoma with metastatic potential in nonhuman primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Y. Esmail
- Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Alton G. Swennes
- Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Yan Feng
- Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Zeli Shen
- Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - AnaPatricia Garcia
- Division of Pathology, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Prachi Sharma
- Division of Pathology, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Joyce Cohen
- Division of Animal Resources, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - James G. Fox
- Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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