Noninvasive tuberculosis screening in free-living primate populations in Gombe National Park, Tanzania
Wolf TM, Sreevatsan S, Singer RS, Lipende I, Collins A, Gillespie TR, Lonsdorf EV, Travis DA
Recent advances in noninvasive detection methods for mycobacterial infection in primates create new opportunities for exploring the epidemiology of tuberculosis in free-living species. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) and baboons (Papio anubis) in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, were screened for infection with pathogens of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex using Fecal IS6110 PCR; none was positive. This study demonstrates the feasibility of large-scale mycobacterial screening in wild primates.
Ecohealth 13(1):139-144