Publikationsdatenbank

Health monitoring in great apes:
the use of neopterin as a non-invasive marker in monitoring diseases in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) (2019)

Art

Hochschulschrift

Autor

Löhrich, Therese (WE 7)

Quelle

Berlin: Mensch und Buch Verlag Berlin, 2019 — V, 56 Seiten

ISBN: 978-3-96729-019-6

Sprache

Englisch

Verweise

URL (Volltext): https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/26335

Kontakt

Institut für Mikrobiologie und Tierseuchen

Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13
14163 Berlin
+49 30 838 51843 / 66949
mikrobiologie@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

Great apes frequently die during outbreaks of infectious diseases. Research mainly focuses on these lethal outbreaks, but little is known on mild diseases and disease dynamics between outbreaks. To better understand the patterns of disease in great ape populations, it is of particular importance to continuously monitor their health status. The majority of pathogens has zoonotic potential, and is therefore also relevant for human health. Non-invasive techniques are used to monitor primate health, but they are restricted in their diagnostic range and to date, there is no precise technique available to measure diseases in wild great apes. In human medicine, neopterin, a sensitive marker of the cell-mediated immune response, is used to diagnose the presence and status of disease. This marker seems to be a good candidate to bridge this gap. As pathogen analysis in wild great apes is both time and resource consuming, I examined the potential use of urinary neopterin as a disease marker and unspecific screening tool to facilitate informed pathogen analysis in great ape health monitoring. To test this, urinary neopterin was correlated to other disease markers such as sickness behaviors, fever, and urine parameters. Seasonal variation in urinary neopterin levels was investigated as well. Urine samples and data were collected from wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) of two habituated chimpanzee communities in the Taï National Park, Côte d´Ivoire. The data set consisted of longitudinal data of in total 23 individuals aged from three to twelve years, and collected between November 2013 and June 2016. The data collection comprised of daily sampling of urine samples for the quantitative determination of urinary neopterin (competitive ELISA), and for the performance of a urine dipstick test to screen for pathological findings. The measurement of the fecal temperature decline in fresh feces was used to estimate the body temperature. Behavioral activities were continuously recorded to detect sickness behavior (reduced play and travelling, increased resting). Relationships between disease markers were examined using weekly collected data of several individuals in a linear mixed model, and a case study approach describing a five days period of mild disease in a four years old male. Seasonal variation in urinary neopterin levels was tested using a linear mixed model. While the linear mixed model found no obvious relationship between urinary neopterin levels and other disease markers, the case study approach revealed a pattern resembling those found in humans. Urinary neopterin release correlated with prominent sickness behavior, fever and changes in urine parameters (leucocyturia, erythrocyturia, and hemoglobinuria). Interestingly, urinary neopterin increased with a delay of one day after onset of disease symptoms. Urinary neopterin levels indicated seasonal immune system activation peaking in times of low ambient temperatures. Finding an appropriate marker to monitor diseases in wild chimpanzees contributes towards understanding general disease mechanisms and outbreak dynamics in wild great apes. To account for the temporally dynamic interplay of immune system activation and disease symptoms, a case-oriented study design with consecutive daily sampling is appropriate. Using data sets consisting of weekly data collection is not suitable for this purpose. Urinary neopterin was shown to be a useful marker when examining seasonal immune system activation. Therein, I suggest the use of urinary neopterin as a non-invasive marker and unspecific screening tool in great ape health monitoring to identify relevant samples, individuals, populations, and time periods for selective pathogen analysis and zoonotic risk assessment.