RESUMO
We investigated Treponema pallidum infection in 8 nonhuman primate species (289 animals) in Tanzania during 2015-2017. We used a serologic treponemal test to detect antibodies against the bacterium. Infection was further confirmed from tissue samples of skin-ulcerated animals by 3 independent PCRs (polA, tp47, and TP_0619). Our findings indicate that T. pallidum infection is geographically widespread in Tanzania and occurs in several species (olive baboons, yellow baboons, vervet monkeys, and blue monkeys). We found the bacterium at 11 of 14 investigated geographic locations. Anogenital ulceration was the most common clinical manifestation; orofacial lesions also were observed. Molecular data show that nonhuman primates in Tanzania are most likely infected with T. pallidum subsp. pertenue-like strains, which could have implications for human yaws eradication.
Assuntos
Doenças dos Primatas/epidemiologia , Doenças dos Primatas/microbiologia , Treponema pallidum , Bouba/veterinária , Animais , Estudos Transversais , Feminino , Genes Bacterianos , Geografia Médica , Masculino , Doenças dos Primatas/diagnóstico , Testes Sorológicos , Avaliação de Sintomas , Tanzânia/epidemiologia , Treponema pallidum/genética , Treponema pallidum/imunologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Recently, the World Health Organization launched a campaign to eradicate the tropical disease yaws, caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum subsp. pertenue; however, for decades researchers have questioned whether flies act as a vector for the pathogen that could facilitate transmission. METHODS: A total of 207 fly specimens were trapped in areas of Africa in which T. pallidum-induced skin ulcerations are common in wild baboons; 88 flies from Tarangire National Park and 119 from Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania were analyzed by PCR for the presence of T. pallidum DNA. FINDINGS: We report that in the two study areas, T. pallidum DNA was found in 17-24% of wild-caught flies of the order Diptera. Treponemal DNA sequences obtained from many of the flies match sequences derived from nearby baboon T. pallidum strains, and one of the fly species with an especially high prevalence of T. pallidum DNA, Musca sorbens, has previously been shown to transmit yaws in an experimental setting. INTERPRETATION: Our results raise the possibility that flies play a role in yaws transmission; further research is warranted, given how important understanding transmission is for the eradication of this disfiguring disease.