Oftentimes, when we image species crossover events, it’s from a human perspective. SIV becomes HIV. Ebola jumps from bats and devastates human communities. MERS arises from domestic camels. We don’t often think about the opposite: human diseases that cross into other species. These “homoses” can cause just as much destruction as zoonotic diseases cause in human populations, and recently, an example of just that was discovered in Uganda.
Uganda’s Kibale National Park is the home of a large population of chimpanzees. Recently, local chimpanzees were experiencing an epidemic of severe respiratory infection of unknown etiology. The outbreak infected most of the chimps in the region, and it had a rather high death rate. In one studied population of 56, 5 chimps died. Scientists were quick to investigate this rapidly spreading infection, but were dismayed to find that the culprit was Rhinovirus C, a thoroughly human virus that causes the common cold. Researchers have since discovered that chimps are genetically predisposed to have problems with rhinoviruses, which would explain the severe effects of this epidemic. This is an example of another human-related threat to the continued existence of chimpanzees in the region.
- Cole Holderman
Source:
1. Science News Article: Chimpanzee deaths in Uganda pinned on human cold virus: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171213130223.htm
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