Studies of nonhuman primates: key sources of data on zoonoses and microbiota

Abstract

The genetic and morphologic similarities between primates and humans means that much information obtained from primates may be applied to humans, and vice versa. However, habitat loss, hunting and the continued presence of humans have a negative effect on the biology and behaviour of almost all nonhuman primates. Noninvasive methods such as stool collection are among the safest alternative ways to study the multiple aspects of the biology of primates. Many epidemiologic issues (e.g. pathogen detection, microbiota studies) may be easily studied using stool samples from primates. Primates are undoubtedly among the first candidates suspected of becoming the source of one of the next emerging epidemic of zoonotic origin, as has already been observed with HIV, malaria and monkeypox. The Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire Méditerranée Infection in Marseille actively participates in the study, mostly epidemiologic, of nonhuman primates, using mostly stool samples.

Keywords: Culturomics; faecal samples; great apes; microbiota; nonhuman primates; zoonoses.

Fig. 1

Origin of samples from nonhuman primates studied at Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire Méditerranée Infection, Marseille. Images by O. Mediannikov.