Potential
Potential
pathogen transmission risk in non-human primate ecotourism: A case
study at Mt. Huangshan, China
Zhu Yong 1,
Li Jin-Hua 1, 2, Xia Dong-Po 1, Sun
Bing-Hua 1, Xu Yu-Rui 1, Wang Xi 1,
Zhang Dao 1
1. School of Resources and Environmental
Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China
2. School of Life Science, Anhui Normal University,
Wuhu 241000, China
Abstract: Ecotourism
involving feeding wildlife poses potential threats to public health and
has raised public attention, especially concerning non-human primates. This
study aimed to assess disease’s emergence in macaques and patterns of human-macaque contacts at Tibetan
macaque ecotourism site at Mt. Huangshan, China. Using all-occurrence
sampling, we collected aggressive behavior initiated by
macaques. A total of 282 tourists were surveyed. During the
study period, 16 macaque blood samples were collected and analyzed by enzyme
linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the seroprevalence of immunoglobulin
antibodies to Herpes B Virus, Hepatitis A virus, Simian foamy virus, Simian pox
virus, Simian retrovirus and Simian T-cell lymphotrophic virus-1. The
results indicate that Tibetan macaques tested positive for 6 types of virus
antibodies. Most aggressive behaviors initiated by macaques did not
result in physical contact with humans. The main type of aggressive
behavior with physical contact was scratching (92%). Among the participants that
have physical contact with monkeys, 13.79% were scratched and 6.9% were
bitted by monkeys. Of the injured, 89.36% were treated by doctors at a medical
clinic. This study provides evidence that the people who come into contact with
macaques at ecotourism site are at risk for exposure to the virus when
interacting with macaques. Our study may aid in the management of human-macaque
interaction to minimize potential disease emergence risk.
[Zhu
Y, Li JH, Xia DP, Sun BH, Xu YR, Wang X, Zhang D. Potential pathogen
transmission risk in non-human primate ecotourism: A case study at Mt.
Huangshan, China. Life Sci J 2013;10(1):2754-2759]
(ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com.
Keywords: Tibetan macaques; ecotourism; human-macaque interaction; pathogen transmission
