Mysterious bacteria kill chimpanzees, high risk of transmission to humans

American scientists have succeeded in identifying a bacterium which for several years causes a “Fatal disease of unknown etiology” and he’s killing dozens of chimpanzees in Sierra Leone. Now they are wondering if it could be transmitted to humans and therefore to another epidemic.

“The disease is characterized by neurological and gastrointestinal signs and results in the death of animals, even after medical treatment,” said the presentation.

The new bacteria are called Wren pregnancy and causes epizootic neurological and gastroenteric syndrome – ENGS, for its acronym in English -, as detailed by an international team of scientists led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in a publication of the scientific journal Nature communications.

The first ENGS recordings date from 2005, reported USA today, which prevents the disease “Hit his victims suddenly”. “A chimpanzee who looked healthy just a day before, contracts the disease and staggers almost like a drunkard with a nervous system disorder called ataxia,” he said.

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“Chimpanzees also suffer from bloating of the stomach and intestines. They seem to die from the gas that enters the tissues of the intestines, ”the publication adds. USA today points out that at present there are no known cases of humans infected with the bacteria, but the similarities between chimpanzee and human DNA They’re worrying to scientists.

Research found that between 2005 and 2018, a total of 56 chimpanzees at the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Sierra Leone. All presented symptoms including “anorexia, neuromuscular weakness, ataxia, convulsions, vomiting and abdominal distension”. In addition, it is stated in all cured cases “the clinical disease subsequently reappeared and resulted in death”.

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Could it be transmitted to humans?

“There are very few pathogens that infect chimpanzees and not humans and very few pathogens that infect humans and not chimpanzees,” he said. Tony Goldberg, one of the authors of the article and professor of epidemiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It seems we have to worryGoldberg pointed out.

Known deadly diseases, such as Ebola and AIDS, have passed from hominoid primates to humans. “One of the main agents responsible for human malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, which was once thought to co-evolve with humans, is in fact the result of recent zoonotic transmission from a western gorilla, ”the researchers illustrate.

“Contact with New World primates has caused transmission of the foamy monkey virus to primate workers in Brazil and the Transmission of the monkeypox virus has occurred among staff at a primate sanctuary after a monkeypox epidemic among sanctuary chimpanzees in Cameroon, ”they add.

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Wren pregnancy: in looking for his Origin

The bacteria appear to be able to live in the soil, but researchers admit they still don’t know exactly how animals ingest it. In an infected chimpanzee, cells of Wren pregnancy release ethanol and carbon dioxide, both of which can cause neurological and gastrointestinal problems observed. In addition, bacteria are able to enter the internal organs of the animal, such as its lungs and even its brain.

“We don’t know how it got there ”, recognized Goldberg, before adding that this is one of the mysteries that researchers have yet to solve. However, researchers are absolutely certain that emerging pathogens “pose a substantial risk to human and animal health”.

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Scientists explained in Nature that these emerging pathogens “may arise due to the acquisition of virulence factors by genetic mutation and horizontal gene transfer and due to ecological processes which modify its epidemiology / epizootiology and its host range ”.

“These processes are accelerating due to factors such as agricultural intensification, demographic changes, ecosystem disturbances, geophysical processes and global environmental changes. In addition, improved diagnostic methods facilitate the detection and characterization of novel pathogens and the genetic characteristics that contribute to their emerging phenotypes, ”the publication states.