Asian Monkey Temple Visitors Warned of Virus Transmission

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http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jul2005/2005-07-25-05.asp

 

Asian Monkey Temple Visitors Warned of Virus

Transmission

 

SEATTLE, Washington, July 25, 2005 (ENS) - An

international team of scientists concerned about

transmission of viruses from monkeys to humans are

warning travellers to Asia not to pet or feed the

numerous monkeys they may see at temples and other

tourist sites. Feeding the animals, or even carrying

food into a temple, can greatly increase the risk of a

bite or scratch, which can lead to transmission of

infection.

 

The warning comes from researchers in the United

States, Canada and Indonesia who have identified the

first reported case in Asia of primate to human

transmission of a retrovirus found in macaques and

other primates known as the simian foamy virus. So far

this virus has not been shown to cause disease in

humans.

 

The transmission of the virus from a monkey to a human

took place at a monkey temple in Bali, Indonesia, the

researchers report in the July issue of the journal

" Emerging Infectious Diseases. "

 

Even though this particular virus may not prove

dangerous to humans, the scientists warn that the

dense human and primate populations in Asia could lead

to other viruses carried by primates jumping the

species barrier and causing human disease.

HIV, the virus that causes AIDS in humans, is believed

to have originated as simian immunodeficiency virus,

and jumped the species barrier to humans when African

bushmeat hunters came into contact with blood from

infected animals.

 

" The issue of primate-to-human viral transmission has

been studied extensively in Africa, largely because

that is where HIV originated, " explains Dr. Lisa

Jones-Engel, lead author of the study and a research

scientist in the Division of International Programs at

the University of Washington National Primate Research

Center in Seattle.

 

" But there has not been much work on the topic in

Asia, which has huge primate diversity and large human

populations, " she said.

 

For this study, the researchers tested blood samples

from 82 people who work in or around a temple in Bali,

as well as samples from macaques in the area. They

found antibodies for simian foamy virus in the blood

of one 47 year old farmer who visited the temple every

day.

 

They confirmed the tests by performing a DNA analysis

of the man's blood, and found that the SFV strain he

carried was the same strain found in the temple's

macaques. The man denied owning a monkey as a pet, or

hunting monkeys for food.

 

He had been bitten once and scratched more than once

by the temple's macaques.

 

Buddhist and Hindu monkey temples - places of worship

that have become refuges for populations of primates -

are common in South and Southeast Asia.

On the island of Bali alone, there are more than 40

such temples, which are frequented by tourists from

around the world. About 700,000 international tourists

visit the island's four main monkey temples every

year. Temple workers and people who live near the

temples also have a great deal of contact with monkeys

at the religious sites.

 

Researchers still do not know the long-term effects of

simian foamy virus on humans. There are about 40 known

cases of people being infected, through laboratory or

zoo contact, or through bushmeat hunting in Africa.

There are no known cases of human disease yet.

 

The majority of previous primate to human viral

transmission research focused on bushmeat hunting, in

which monkeys and other wild animals are hunted for

food.

 

Though bushmeat hunting and consumption may be a

significant factor in viral transmission in Africa,

Jones-Engel says people in Asia come into contact with

primates in many other ways - animal markets, primate

pet ownership, urban performing primates, and zoos.

 

" In Asia, the amount of contact between humans and

primates in temple settings dwarfs the contact due to

bushmeat hunting, " says Jones-Engel.

 

Also participating in the study were researchers at

the University of Toronto; Udayana University in

Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia; the University of Notre

Dame; the Southern Research Institute in Frederick,

Maryland; and the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical

Research in San Antonio, Texas.

 

Jones-Engel and her fellow researchers warn that there

are other primate viruses known to be harmful that

could jump the species barrier, and they urge people

to be cautious and careful when interacting with

monkeys.

 

" If you look at free-ranging monkeys in Singapore's

nature reserves, you see that feeding by visitors is

not allowed, and it is actively discouraged, " says

Gregory Engel, an attending physician at

Swedish/Providence Hospital in Seattle, a clinical

instructor of family medicine at the University of

Washington, and a co-author on the study.

 

" Interspecies interaction there is very different, and

rates of human-monkey contact are much lower, " Engel

said.

 

Limiting contact between primates and humans also can

reduce the transmission of human infections to

monkeys. Human measles can cause disease in monkeys

and can even kill them.

 

Other primate species have already seen population

losses because of infection by human illnesses. The

" Gorilla Journal " reports that cases of illnesses in

apes associated with human respiratory viruses and

bacteria include influenza, pneumonia, herpes,

measles, mumps, polio, and salmonella, as well as

numerous parasites.

 

Quote of Note

 

" We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity

belonging to us. When we see land as a community to

which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and

respect. "

 

-- Aldo Leopold, American environmentalist and author

 

 

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