B. Ollomo et al., LACK OF MALARIA PARASITE TRANSMISSION BETWEEN APES AND HUMANS IN GABON, The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 56(4), 1997, pp. 440-445
Citations number
20
Categorie Soggetti
Public, Environmental & Occupation Heath","Tropical Medicine
The International Center for Medical Research (CIRMF) is located in an
area highly endemic for malaria in southeastern Gabon, where humans a
nd apes (gorilla and chimpanzees) are living in the same geographic ar
ea. The presence of the CIRMF primate center housing apes (59 chimpanz
ees and nine gorillas in 1994) withing the city of Franceville provide
d an opportunity to investigate the capability of cross-transmission o
f malaria species from humans to apes. The main vector of human malari
a, Anopheles gambiae, was found in the primate center and in a nearby
populated area of Franceville. Despite high malaria transmission in hu
mans in both Plasmodium falciparum and P. malariae (mean of 43% cumula
tive prevalence in schoolchildren), none of the apes were found infect
ed with plasmodia during a six-month investigation. However, low antib
ody levels against sporozoite and blood stages of both P. falciparum a
nd P. malariae were detected in a few chimpanzees and gorillas. These
results demonstrate that only rarely would apes be bitten in the field
by mosquitoes infected with human malaria parasites. In the case of i
nfection proven by serology, we did not find any evidence that blood-s
tage malaria parasites were able to the gametocyte stage. The absence
of any established malaria transmission cycle within the primate colon
y of CIRMF indicates that apes cannot be considered as animal reservoi
rs for human malaria parasites in this environment.