Drug-Resistant Human Staphylococcus Aureus in Sanctuary Apes Pose a Threat to Endangered Wild Ape Populations
Reintroduction of sanctuary apes to natural habitat is considered an important tool for conservation; however, reintroduction has the potential to endanger resident wild apes through the introduction of human pathogens. We found a high prevalence of drug-resistant, human-associated lineages of Staphylococcus aureus in sanctuary chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) from Zambia and Uganda. This pathogen is associated […]
Does Confirmed Pathogen Transfer between Sanctuary Workers and Great Apes Mean that Reintroduction Should not Occur?
This commentary discusses the findings and conclusions of the paper “Drug resistant human Staphylococcus aureus findings in sanctuary apes and its threat to wild ape populations.” This paper confirms the zoonotic transfer of Staphylococcus aureus in a sanctuary setting. The assertion that this in itself is enough to reconsider the conservation potential of ape reintroduction […]
Sickness behaviours in ducks include anorexia but not lethargy
The characteristics of mammalian sickness behaviour are often conferred on the avian phyla despite there being little scientific evidence that birds change their behaviour when the innate immune system is activated during disease or infection. We used bio-logging techniques to measure activity and feed intake in birds exposed to different pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). […]