Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Dec;19(12):2058-60.
doi: 10.3201/eid1912.130863.

Treponemal infection in nonhuman primates as possible reservoir for human yaws

Sascha Knauf, Hsi Liu, Kristin N Harper

Treponemal infection in nonhuman primates as possible reservoir for human yaws

Sascha Knauf et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2013 Dec.
No abstract available

Keywords: Africa; World Health Organization; bacteria; eradication; nonhuman primates; pallidum; pertenue; syphilis; treponeme; yaws; zoonoses.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure
Figure
Geographic proximity between human yaws and endemic syphilis, as estimated by the World Health Organization, and locations in which treponemal infection has been identified in nonhuman primates (NHPs), Africa, 1990s. Red dots indicate infection in NHPs confirmed by sensitive and specific treponemal serologic tests (TPI/FTA-ABS/MHA-TP [Treponema-pallidum-immobilization reaction/fluorescence-Treponema-antibody-absorption test/Treponema pallidum microhemagglutination assay]) and, in some cases, PCR. Stars indicate suspected infection (i.e., sightings of NHPs with lesions consistent with infection). Sources include the following: 1) Cameroon: Gorilla gorilla, observation (W. Karesh, pers. comm.); Pan troglodytes, G. gorilla, and Papio sp., skeletal analysis and serology (4;11 in Technical Appendix. 2) Chad: Erythrocebus patas, serology (4). 3) Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Pan troglodytes, serology (4). 4) Gabon: G. gorilla, observation (W. Karesh, pers. comm.). 5) Guinea: Papio sp., serology and PCR (4,8). 6) Kenya: Papio anubis and Chlorocebus sp., observation and serology (J. Fischer, pers. comm.); 12 in Technical Appendix). 7) Nigeria, Papio anubis (J. Wallis, pers. comm.). 8) Republic of Congo: G. gorilla, serology and observation (W. Karesh, unpub. data; 5). 9) Tanzania: P. anubis; observation, serology, PCR (6,7; 13 in Technical Appendix; S. Knauf, unpub. data). 10) Senegal: Papio sp., Chlorocebus sp., colobus monkeys, and Erythrocebus patas; serology (S. Knauf, unpub. data; 4; 14 in Technical Appendix). Scale bar = 1,000 km.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Maurice J. WHO plans new yaws eradication campaign. Lancet. 2012;379:1377–8. 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60581-9 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Harper KN, Ocampo PS, Steiner BM, George RW, Silverman MS, Bolotin S, et al. On the origin of the treponematoses: a phylogenetic approach. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2008;2:e148. 10.1371/journal.pntd.0000148 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Centurion-Lara A, Castro C, Castillo R, Shaffer J. Voorhis Wv, Lukehart S. The flanking region sequences of the 15-kDa lipoprotein gene differentiate pathogenic treponemes. J Infect Dis. 1998;177:1036–40. 10.1086/515247 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fribourg-Blanc A, Mollaret HH. Natural treponematosis of the African primate. Primates Med. 1969;3:113–21 . - PubMed
    1. Levréro F, Gatti S, Gautier-Hion A, Ménard N. Yaws disease in a wild gorilla population and its impact on the reproductive status of males. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2007;132:568–75. 10.1002/ajpa.20560 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources