Nodular Worm Infection in Wild Chimpanzees in Western Uganda: A Risk for Human Health?

This study focused on Oeosophagostomum sp., and more especially on O. bifurcum, as a parasite that can be lethal to humans and is widespread among humans and monkeys in endemic regions, but has not yet been documented in apes. Its epidemiology and the role played by non-human primates in its transmission are still poorly understood. O. stephanostomum was the only species diagnosed so far in chimpanzees. Until recently, O. bifurcum was assumed to have a high zoonotic potential, but recent findings tend to demonstrate that O. bifurcum of non-human primates and humans might be genetically distinct. As the closest relative to human beings, and a species living in spatial proximity to humans in the field site studied, Pan troglodytes is thus an interesting host to investigate. Recently, a role for chimpanzees in the emergence of HIV and malaria in humans has been documented. In the framework of our long-term health monitoring of wild chimpanzees from Kibale National Park in Western Uganda, we analysed 311 samples of faeces. Coproscopy revealed that high-ranking males are more infected than other individuals. These chimpanzees are also the more frequent crop-raiders. Results from PCR assays conducted on larvae and dried faeces also revealed that O. stephanostomum as well as O. bifurcum are infecting chimpanzees, both species co-existing in the same individuals. Because contacts between humans and great apes are increasing with ecotourism and forest fragmentation in areas of high population density, this paper emphasizes that the presence of potential zoonotic parasites should be viewed as a major concern for public health. Investigations of the parasite status of people living around the park or working inside as well as sympatric non-human primates should be planned, and further research might reveal this as a promising aspect of efforts to reinforce measures against crop-raiding

Nouveaux triterpènes à activité antiplasmodiale isolés des feuilles de Neoboutonia macrocalyx L., une plante consommée par les chimpanzés du parc national de Kibale (Ouganda)

Neoboutonia macrocalyx est originaire d’un arbre des forêts montagneuses de basse altitude des régions tropicales de l'Afrique de l'Est. Ses feuilles sont utilisées en médecine traditionnelle dans le traitement du paludisme par les populations localisées sur le pourtour Sud-Ouest du Parc National de Kibale, en Ouganda. Nous avons observé, par ailleurs, que le bois mort du tronc de cette même espèce était consommé de façon très occasionnelle par certains chimpanzés des communautés de Kanyawara et de Sebitoli (Parc National de Kibale). Les chimpanzés utiliseraient-ils également cette plante pour traiter leurs accès palustres ? Nous avons alors récolté les différentes parties de cette espèce dans le Parc National de Kibale. Trois types d’extraits de polarité croissante (avec l’acétate d’éthyle, le méthanol et l’eau) ont été réalisés afin d’évaluer leur activité et de rechercher les molécules responsables des activités observées. Ces extraits ont montré une bonne activité antiplasmodiale, en particulier l’extrait à l’acétate d’éthyle des feuilles. L’investigation phytochimique de cet extrait guidé par l’activité biologique a conduit à l’isolement de 9 cycloartane triterpéniques nouveaux (1-9), un phénanthrène nouveau, le 7-methoxy-2,8 dimethyl-9,10-dihydrophenantherene-3,6 diol (10), ainsi que 3 composés connus, la 22-dé-O-acétyl-26-désoxynéoboutomellerone (11), la mellerine B (12) et le 6-hydroxystigmast-4-èn-3-one (13). La structure chimique des composés a été principalement établie d’après un ensemble de techniques spectroscopiques, donc principalement de la résonnance magnétique nucléaire (RMN). Les composés isolés ont été évalués pour leur activité antiplasmodiale sur la souche chloroquino-résistante de Plasmodium falciparum FcB1 ainsi que pour leur cytotoxicité sur la souche de cellules KB (carcinome de l’épiderme nasopharyngien humain) et sur la souche de cellules MRC5 (fibroblastes embryonnaires humains). Sept des treize composés ont montré une bonne activité antiplasmodiale avec des concentrations inhibitrices à 50% (CI50) inférieures à 5 µg/ml. Cependant, certains d’entres eux montrent en même temps une cytotoxicité significative, ce qui indiquerait que l’activité antiplasmodiale observée serait corrélée à leur activité cytotoxique

Investigations on anopheline mosquitoes close to the nest sites of chimpanzees subject to malaria infection in Ugandan Highlands.

International audienceBackground: Malaria parasites (Plasmodium sp.), including new species, have recently been discovered as low grade mixed infections in three wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) sampled randomly in Kibale National Park, Uganda. This suggested a high prevalence of malaria infection in this community. The clinical course of malaria in chimpanzees and the species of the vectors that transmit their parasites are not known. The fact that these apes display a specific behaviour in which they consume plant parts of low nutritional value but that contain compounds with anti-malarial properties suggests that the apes' health might be affected by the parasite. The avoidance of the night-biting anopheline mosquitoes is another potential behavioural adaptation that would lead to a decrease in the number of infectious bites and consequently malaria.Methods: Mosquitoes were collected over two years using suction-light traps and yeast-generated CO2 traps at the nesting and the feeding sites of two chimpanzee communities in Kibale National Park. The species of the female Anopheles caught were then determined and the presence of Plasmodium was sought in these insects by PCR amplification.Results: The mosquito catches yielded a total of 309 female Anopheles specimens, the only known vectors of malaria parasites of mammalians. These specimens belonged to 10 species, of which Anopheles implexus, Anopheles vinckei and Anopheles demeilloni dominated. Sensitive DNA amplification techniques failed to detect any Plasmodium-positive Anopheles specimens. Humidity and trap height influenced the Anopheles capture success, and there was a negative correlation between nest numbers and mosquito abundance. The anopheline mosquitoes were also less diverse and numerous in sites where chimpanzees were nesting as compared to those where they were feeding.Conclusions: These observations suggest that the sites where chimpanzees build their nests every night might be selected, at least in part, in order to minimize contact with anopheline mosquitoes, which might lead to a reduced risk in acquiring malaria infections

On the diversity of malaria parasites in African apes and the origin of Plasmodium falciparum from Bonobos

The origin of Plasmodium falciparum, the etiological agent of the most dangerous forms of human malaria, remains controversial. Although investigations of homologous parasites in African Apes are crucial to resolve this issue, studies have been restricted to a chimpanzee parasite related to P. falciparum, P. reichenowi, for which a single isolate was available until very recently. Using PCR amplification, we detected Plasmodium parasites in blood samples from 18 of 91 individuals of the genus Pan, including six chimpanzees (three Pan troglodytes troglodytes, three Pan t. schweinfurthii) and twelve bonobos (Pan paniscus). We obtained sequences of the parasites' mitochondrial genomes and/or from two nuclear genes from 14 samples. In addition to P. reichenowi, three other hitherto unknown lineages were found in the chimpanzees. One is related to P. vivax and two to P. falciparum that are likely to belong to distinct species. In the bonobos we found P. falciparum parasites whose mitochondrial genomes indicated that they were distinct from those present in humans, and another parasite lineage related to P. malariae. Phylogenetic analyses based on this diverse set of Plasmodium parasites in African Apes shed new light on the evolutionary history of P. falciparum. The data suggested that P. falciparum did not originate from P. reichenowi of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), but rather evolved in bonobos (Pan paniscus), from which it subsequently colonized humans by a host-switch. Finally, our data and that of others indicated that chimpanzees and bonobos maintain malaria parasites, to which humans are susceptible, a factor of some relevance to the renewed efforts to eradicate malaria