Primates, Pathogens, and Evolution: A Context for Understanding Emerging Disease

• Type of Material: Book Chapter
• Authors: Kristin N. Harper, Columbia University; Molly K. Zuckerman, Mississippi State University; Bethany Turner, Emory University; George Armelagos, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2013-08-30
• Publisher: Emory University Libraries
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7181-3_13
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Primates, Pathogens, and Evolution
• Start Page: 389
• End Page: 409
• Place of Publication or Presentation: New York, NY
• Keywords: wild chimpanzee; repository syncytial virus; host switch; human pathogen; mountain gorilla; Science
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Pathology; Agriculture, Animal Pathology

Abstract

The world is rife with potential pathogens. Of those that infect humans, it is estimated that roughly 20 % are of nonhuman primate origin. The same ease characterizes pathogen transmission in the other direction, from humans to nonhuman primates. This latter problem has increasingly serious ramifications for conservation efforts, as growing numbers of ecotourists and researchers serve as potential vectors of disease. Here, we present an analysis of major cross-species transmission events between human and nonhuman primates. In particular, we consider HIV and malaria as case studies in which nonhuman primate pathogens emerged and became permanent fixtures in human populations. The human practices that facilitate such events are considered, as well as the evolutionary consequences of these events. In addition, we describe human-to-nonhuman primate transmission events and discuss the potential of human pathogens to adapt to nonhuman primate hosts. The topic of emerging infections is addressed, in both human and nonhuman species, in light of changing patterns of contact and novel adaptations on the part of pathogens and hosts.