Primates and primatologists: social contexts for interspecies pathogen transmission

Abstract

Humans and nonhuman primates (NHP) interact in a variety of contexts. The frequency, duration, and intensity of interspecies interaction influence the likelihood that contact results in cross-species transmission of infectious agents. In this study, we present results of a cross-sectional survey of attendees at a national conference of primatologists, characterizing their occupational exposures to NHP. Of 116 individuals who participated in the study, 68.1% reported having worked with NHP in a field setting, 68.1% in a laboratory setting, and 24.1% at a zoo or animal sanctuary. Most subjects (N=98, 84.5%) reported having worked with multiple NHP taxa, including 46 (39.7%) who had worked with more than five distinct taxa. Sixty-nine subjects (59.5%) recalled having been scratched by a NHP and 48 (41.1%) had been bitten; 32 subjects reporting being bitten more than once. Eleven subjects (9.5%) reported having been injured by a needle containing NHP tissue or body fluids. We conclude that primatologists are at high risk for exposure to NHP-borne infectious agents. Furthermore, primatologists' varied occupational activities often bring them into contact with multiple NHP species in diverse contexts and geographic areas, over extended periods of time, making them a unique population with respect to zoonotic and anthropozoonotic disease risk.

Figure 1

Basic demographic data (in orange) as well as the number of subjects who reported working with NHP (in blue) and the contexts in which they worked with NHP (in green).

Figure 2

Geographic distribution of subjects’ field sites.

Figure 3

Respondents were asked to report where they had worked with captive NHP. In the US, many of the states with National Primate Research Centers showed the greatest number of subjects working with captive NHP. In several states, zoo and/or sanctuary NHP accounted for those individuals who had worked with captive NHP. Some respondents also indicated that they had worked with captive animals in Europe and Japan.