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Dunay E, Rukundo J, Atencia R, Cole MF, Cantwell A, Emery Thompson M, Rosati AG, Goldberg TL. Viruses in saliva from sanctuary chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Republic of Congo and Uganda. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0288007. [PMID: 37384730 PMCID: PMC10310015 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Pathogen surveillance for great ape health monitoring has typically been performed on non-invasive samples, primarily feces, in wild apes and blood in sanctuary-housed apes. However, many important primate pathogens, including known zoonoses, are shed in saliva and transmitted via oral fluids. Using metagenomic methods, we identified viruses in saliva samples from 46 wild-born, sanctuary-housed chimpanzees at two African sanctuaries in Republic of Congo and Uganda. In total, we identified 20 viruses. All but one, an unclassified CRESS DNA virus, are classified in five families: Circoviridae, Herpesviridae, Papillomaviridae, Picobirnaviridae, and Retroviridae. Overall, viral prevalence ranged from 4.2% to 87.5%. Many of these viruses are ubiquitous in primates and known to replicate in the oral cavity (simian foamy viruses, Retroviridae; a cytomegalovirus and lymphocryptovirus; Herpesviridae; and alpha and gamma papillomaviruses, Papillomaviridae). None of the viruses identified have been shown to cause disease in chimpanzees or, to our knowledge, in humans. These data suggest that the risk of zoonotic viral disease from chimpanzee oral fluids in sanctuaries may be lower than commonly assumed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Dunay
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Joshua Rukundo
- Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary / Chimpanzee Trust, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - Rebeca Atencia
- Jane Goodall Institute Congo, Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo
| | - Megan F. Cole
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Averill Cantwell
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Melissa Emery Thompson
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Alexandra G. Rosati
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Tony L. Goldberg
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
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Dunay E, Owens LA, Dunn CD, Rukundo J, Atencia R, Cole MF, Cantwell A, Emery Thompson M, Rosati AG, Goldberg TL. Viruses in sanctuary chimpanzees across Africa. Am J Primatol 2023; 85:e23452. [PMID: 36329642 PMCID: PMC9812903 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Infectious disease is a major concern for both wild and captive primate populations. Primate sanctuaries in Africa provide critical protection to thousands of wild-born, orphan primates confiscated from the bushmeat and pet trades. However, uncertainty about the infectious agents these individuals potentially harbor has important implications for their individual care and long-term conservation strategies. We used metagenomic next-generation sequencing to identify viruses in blood samples from chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in three sanctuaries in West, Central, and East Africa. Our goal was to evaluate whether viruses of human origin or other "atypical" or unknown viruses might infect these chimpanzees. We identified viruses from eight families: Anelloviridae, Flaviviridae, Genomoviridae, Hepadnaviridae, Parvoviridae, Picobirnaviridae, Picornaviridae, and Rhabdoviridae. The majority (15/26) of viruses identified were members of the family Anelloviridae and represent the genera Alphatorquevirus (torque teno viruses) and Betatorquevirus (torque teno mini viruses), which are common in chimpanzees and apathogenic. Of the remaining 11 viruses, 9 were typical constituents of the chimpanzee virome that have been identified in previous studies and are also thought to be apathogenic. One virus, a novel tibrovirus (Rhabdoviridae: Tibrovirus) is related to Bas-Congo virus, which was originally thought to be a human pathogen but is currently thought to be apathogenic, incidental, and vector-borne. The only virus associated with disease was rhinovirus C (Picornaviridae: Enterovirus) infecting one chimpanzee subsequent to an outbreak of respiratory illness at that sanctuary. Our results suggest that the blood-borne virome of African sanctuary chimpanzees does not differ appreciably from that of their wild counterparts, and that persistent infection with exogenous viruses may be less common than often assumed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Dunay
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Leah A Owens
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Christopher D Dunn
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Joshua Rukundo
- Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary/Chimpanzee Trust, Entebbe, Uganda
| | - Rebeca Atencia
- Jane Goodall Institute Congo, Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo
| | - Megan F Cole
- Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Averill Cantwell
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | | | - Alexandra G Rosati
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.,Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Tony L Goldberg
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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