Anthrax is posing a serious threat to wildlife in the Ivory Coast’s Taï National Park and could soon even lead to the extinction of local chimpanzee populations, according to a recent study from the Robert Koch Institute, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, the University of Glasgow, and the Ivorian National Animal Health Institute.
For the study, the researchers focused on the distribution of the pathogen throughout the park by analyzing bone and tissue samples taken from mammal carcasses over a 28-year period.
They also examined the stomach contents of carrion flies, which are known to encounter carcasses and pick up the pathogen from there. Additionally, bones and flies from 16 other regions in sub-Saharan Africa were tested as well.
“To our surprise, almost 40 percent of all animal deaths in Taï National Park we investigated were attributable to anthrax,” Emmanuel Couacy-Hymann, a researcher from the Ivorian Animal Health Institute, said.
Testing revealed that the pathogen was found in duikers, mongoose, porcupine, and a number of monkey species. Chimpanzees were among the most-seriously affected groups, with 31 of 55 samples testing positive for the pathogen.
“According to our projections, anthrax could over time contribute to drive chimpanzees in Taï National Park to extinction,” Roman Wittig, head of the Taï Chimpanzee Project at the Max Planck Institute, said.
According to a release from the Max Planck Institute, the research teams will now attempt to find out why the pathogen is particularly active within the park and how animals become infected in the first place. Further, researchers will also try to find ways to protect the park’s chimpanzee population, which could involve vaccinations.
Anthrax infection is caused by contact with Bacillus anthracis spores. Symptoms typically include skin blisters and ulcers, shortness of breath, nausea, fever, abdominal pain and chest pain.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, approximately 50 percent of people infected with the virus will die without treatment, with 2,000 patients succumbing to the virus’ lethal effects each year worldwide.