Emerging Zoonoses, Robert Koch-Institut, Berlin, Germany.
Clin Microbiol Infect. 2012 Jun;18(6):521-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-0691.2012.03816.x. Epub 2012 Mar 27.
Emerging zoonotic infectious diseases pose a serious threat to global health. This is especially true in relation to the great apes, whose close phylogenetic relationship with humans results in a high potential for microorganism exchange. In this review, we show how studies of the microorganisms of wild great apes can lead to the discovery of novel pathogens of importance for humans. We also illustrate how these primates, living in their natural habitats, can serve as sentinels for outbreaks of human disease in regions with a high likelihood of disease emergence. Greater sampling efforts and improvements in sample preservation and diagnostic capacity are rapidly improving our understanding of the diversity and distribution of microorganisms in wild great apes. Linking non-invasive diagnostic data with observational health data from great apes habituated to human presence is a promising approach for the discovery of pathogens of high relevance for humans.
新发人畜共患传染病对全球健康构成严重威胁。对于大猿类来说尤其如此，因为它们与人类有着密切的系统发育关系，这导致了微生物交换的高潜力。在这篇综述中，我们展示了对野生大猿类微生物的研究如何能够发现对人类重要的新型病原体。我们还说明了这些生活在其自然栖息地的灵长类动物如何能够作为疾病爆发的哨兵，这些疾病爆发发生在疾病极有可能出现的地区。更大的采样努力以及改进的样本保存和诊断能力正在迅速提高我们对野生大猿类中微生物的多样性和分布的理解。将非侵入性诊断数据与适应人类存在的大猿类的观察性健康数据联系起来，是发现对人类具有高度相关性的病原体的一种很有前途的方法。
