Scientists detect leprosy microbes in West African species of wild chimpanzees

In the latest scientific development, scientists have detected leprosy in West African wild chimpanzees. The study published in the journal Nature explains the infection and disease were observed among two wild populations in Cantanhez National Park (CNP) Guinea-Bissau and in Tai National Park (TNP) Ivory Coast. The incident, as claimed by the researchers, is the first case among wild chimpanzees. Using a combination of camera trap and veterinary monitoring, the researchers identified the disfiguration among chimpanzees in captives and the wild. As per the study, the medical identification of Mycobacterium leprae (causing agent of the disease) was made after analysis of faecal samples and postmortem tissues. The researchers also determined the phylogenetic placement of the respective strain bases on their complete genome syndrome. 

241 chimpanzees out of 4,334 captive chimpanzees displayed severe leprosy-like lesions, including four identifiable individuals (two adults males and females) across three communities, the study reported in the journal Nature. Often, the manifestations of the disease like go unidentified among chimpanzees just as it does in humans. However, in this case, all symptomatic chimps showed common signs of hair loss, facial disfiguration, ulcerated and deformed hands, plaques and nodules.

Image: Tai Chimpanzee Project

"Nothing was known at all about leprosy in wild primates" before the study, head researcher Kimberley Hockings from the University of Exeter's Center for Ecology and Conservation in the UK mentioned in his report, as quoted in the journal Nature. Although "they were published reports of captive primates including chimpanzees with leprosy, but the source of infection was unclear," he added. The authors also mentioned that despite similarities in the disease in CNP and TNP, phylogenomic analyses showed hay the M.leprae strains in both were not closely related.

What is leprosy?

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), leprosy is caused by slow-growing Mycobacterium Leprae. Also known as Hansen's Disease, it affects nerves, skin, eyes, and the lining of the nose (nasal mucosa). The disease that was once feared to be highly contagious can now be cured if diagnosed early. However, if left untreated can lead to nerve damage, in turn, crippling of hands, feet, paralysis, and blindness. Approximately 210,000 new human cases are still reported every year, of which 2.3% are located in West Africa.

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