Posted on 01/24/2003 5:57:16 AM PST by Neuromancer
Republic of the Congo: Ebola Virus again found in Dead Apes
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A chimpanzee was found dead in the remote Odzala National Park of the Republic of the Congo last week [Jan 2003]. Apollo, the world's best-known gorilla, is missing, and Ebola virus may be the culprit. The alpha male of a 24-member family hasn't been seen since early December [2002], when 2 members of his family were found dead -- along with 3 other endangered western lowland gorillas and several chimps. Less than a year ago, contact with a dead ape was blamed for an Ebola outbreak in the area that killed at least 53 people. Specialists have again found Ebola virus in the dead apes.
No associated human cases have been reported this time. Some 3000 pygmies and others in the area live by hunting monkeys [and apes] -- 80 percent of the world´s remaining lowland gorillas live there. The Wildlife Conservation Society estimates that huge numbers of gorillas and chimps may have died in an Ebola epidemic in the area 5 years ago.
[Byline: Tom Masland]
The above press report suggests that further testing has confirmed the presence of Ebola virus in dead apes. However, the relationship between wildlife deaths and Ebola virus outbreaks in the human population and the source and direction of transmission of the virus remains undefined. A phylogenetic comparison of Ebola virus isolates from wild apes and humans might shed some light on this question.
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