Vaccinating Western Lowland Gorillas against Ebola Virus

Samantha Wilson
Introduction to Natural Resources
1234
Maureen Deisinger
November 3rd 2014

Due to the ever increasing technological and scientific advances in todays world, many
humans possess the ability to distance themselves from nature and wildlife if they so choose. As
a whole, most of the worlds population no longer has to survive solely on hunting or by living
off the land because more modern techniques have developed. Nevertheless, there are always
exceptions; for instance, parts of Africa continue to treasure their cherished, somewhat primitive,
culture and thrive on the basics that nature affords them. This close, integrated lifestyle with the
surrounding environment, can at times lead to disease outbreaks such as, malaria, rabies,
tuberculosis, and currently, Ebola. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, they are dealing
with this very problem; Ebola is infecting people as well as wildlife and a solution is needed
before the damage is irreversible. Providing vaccinations to one of the most endangered species,
the Western Lowland Gorilla, will not only salvage their population but also decrease animal to
human transfer of the Ebola Virus and thus save human lives simultaneously.
Foremost, the Ebola Virus is thought to have originated from three types of bat carriers: the
hammer-headed bat, Franquet's epauletted fruit bat, and the little collared fruit bat (Goetzmann
2013). Because bat soup is a popular delicacy in Western Africa, scientists believe handling the
raw meat of infected bats could have started the very first outbreak in 1976. It is important to
note that 2014 is not the only Ebola outbreak to ever occur; Africa, specifically Democratic
Republic of the Congo, has experienced several outbreaks through years (1976, 1995-1996,
2001-2002, 2003, 2007, 2008-2009, 2012, 2014) and is in a constant battle against the disease
(Fausther-Bovendo 2013).
(Figure 1)
http://publichealthwatch.files .wordpress.com/2014/0/
ebola-outbreaks-map-e1406592482998.gif?w=750

Status of Western Gorillas (Figure 1)

Years Of Outbreak (Figure 2)

2014

Democratic Republic of the Congo

2012

Democratic Republic of the Congo

2008-2009 Democratic Republic of the Congo

2007

Democratic Republic of the Congo

2003

Republic of Congo

2001-2002 Gabon
1995-1996 Zaire (now Congo), Gabon

Shown from the figures above, it is clear that with every coming Ebola outbreak, the status of the
gorillas gradually worsens. At the vulnerable stage, the animals experience a 30-50% population
loss and a 10% extinction probability in the next 100 years; at endangered, there is a 50-70% loss
and 20% chance of extinction in the next 5 generations, and critically endangered means 80-90%
of the population as died and 50% chance the population will go extinct in the next three
generations (Fausther-Bovendo 2013). Another issue contributing to these declining statuses,
lies in the behavior of the gorillas themselves. Gorillas are affectionate creatures towards one
another; so when one dies, it is not uncommon for the other gorillas to inspect, or even grieve,
over the dead body. If this particular gorilla happens to be infected with Ebola, the virus easily
transfers to the next primate. In another case, feeding habits allow the virus to travel from bat to
gorilla. Bats feed on the fruit in the trees, but can leave partially eaten fruits on the ground.
Gorillas then come by, forage, and pick up these half-eaten fruit pieces and ingest them (Le
Gouar 2009). It is possible for the virus to spread through indirect contact: many times bodily
fluids, like blood, are on the surrounding area such as the grass, leaves, or branches. Therefore,
when humans enter the gorillas habitat to remove dead animal carcasses, the virus finds a new
host in the human. Even after three days of decaying, the infected carcass can still transfer the

virus from the dead animal to a new host (Olinger 2012). This is the most common way for the
Ebola Virus to travel between animals and humans. If Ebola outbreaks continue frequently, then
the gorillas behavior will propel the virus forward and increase infection rates among wildlife
and humans.
Even though the Ebola Virus is an extreme threat to the gorilla population, poaching and
habitat loss are also contributing factors to the dwindling population. During the 1980s gorilla
habitat was secluded with very few roads and massive forests. Hunting was difficult because of
the elusiveness of the gorillas behavior and visibility was quite low (Walsh 2007). Continuing
through the years, even the most remote parts of the Congo began to be commercialized for the
natural resources in the area. Oil, logging, and bush meat were some of the most popular exports
(Walsh 2007). Of course, other materials are needed to actually transport these goods, thus, new
infrastructure and roads were created to deplete the forests of their resources. Once inaccessible
areas have become well known logging roads that invade the privacy of the gorillas. While
gorillas are not always the target of the hunting, they are caught in the netting or snares
accidently all over central Africa. Even though these animals are protected under local and
federal law, meat consumption is expected to rise about 3% per year (Warfield 2013). Natural
reproduction rates cannot sustain this even low level of hunting, so the population begins to
decline rapidly. Bush meat hunting use to be a minimal problem, but due to the increasing
commercialization of the world, even remote parts of Africa are being turned into bush meat
trading markets. Most of the gorilla meat, sold for about $6 per hand size piece, comes from
Kouilou (in the Congo, near the Kouilou river) and transported to Pointe Noire (US Army 2007).
Besides Ebola, poaching and commercialization are other contributing factors to the decreasing
populations.

http://cdn2b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/3b/85/3b85c85842fbe933115ec8e241f73f09.png?
itok=C1m3U-EA

Figure 4. Map demonstrates increasing human presence in the remote parts of the Congo.

http://mongabay-images.s3.amazonaws.com/13/0722-africa-rainforest-deforestation-chart.jpg

Figure 5. Depicts continued deforestation in Africa Rainforests

Solutions to poaching and deforestation are limited and come with many problems. Some
suggest to simply let the species die out and let nature take its course. However, humans have

already intervened, thereby upsetting the delicate complexity of the ecosystem. It would be
irrational to expect nature to restore itself of the problems that an outside force caused.
Additionally, letting the population die would cause a drastic cut to the tourism market. Gorillas
remain an elusive and unknown creature to foreigners, which makes them a profitable income
source for many impoverished areas and families. If the main attraction to the country for tourist
disappears, many businesses will struggle to make profits. Furthermore, the biodiversity of such
as a rare, beautiful, unique place should be preserved. If the gorillas disappear, there will be less
seed dispersal via scat, thus less vegetation for other animals to consume and survive on.
Through a research aspect, there is much more to learn from their behavioral and psychological
patterns; not to mention they are 98% genetically related to humans (NIH 2009). By simply
letting nature take its course humans are giving the gorillas a death sentence with unforeseen
consequences. Another perspective is to enforce poaching and hunting laws more actively.
However, even with the gorillas under federal and local protection, poaching continues; therefore
enforcement is lacking. Either enforcing the laws has to be increased or organizations will get
directly involved with the poachers themselves. Some conservation groups have started to
educate, inform, and explain to the poachers, local villages, children, and anyone willing to listen
as to why these creatures need to be protected. Conservation groups realize the villagers poach
for the money; thus, they offer them money in return for protecting these creatures. Overall,
groups suggest to either allow the species to die, or to attempt to transform the poachers into
protectors; however, these solutions often come with large problems.
A preferred solution to treat the infected gorillas would be with vaccinations. Currently, there
are two main vaccines in the experimental stages called CMV based vaccines and eVLPs. The
dissemintating CMV based vaccine (cytomegalovirus) utilizes T-Cells in the vaccine, are
immunogenic (provokes a response in the immune system), and has the ability to re-infect

therefore making it viable for large populations and at times, inaccessible animals (Tsuda 2011).
The experiment proved successful when tested in mice; those who were challenged with the
Ebola Virus, as well as vaccinated with the CMV, survived. Not only could this vaccine be given
to gorillas, but it also applicable to bat populations so that the source of infection ceases (Tsuda
2011). This vaccine protection could spread solely by direct contact: if one gorilla is vaccinated,
then that one gorilla can also vaccinate any other gorillas or other animals they come into contact
with simply by touch. This solution dissolves the issue of gorillas being too elusive to dart, and
cuts down on costs dramatically. The second experimental vaccine, eVLP, was tested in
macaques and emphasized T-cell synthesis. All macaques challenged with Ebola and then
vaccinated survived, compared to the control group, who only were challenged, died (US Army
2007). However, this particular vaccine would require multiple injections and therefore serves as
a less viable option. Both vaccines, nevertheless, would most likely be administered by either
darting or oral baiting. While the synthesis and research of these vaccines is expensive to already
impoverished areas, it serves as the most feasible option because it can reach the large
populations even when inaccessible and will therefore cut down on animal-human transfers.
If nothing is at least attempted to save these remarkable apes, not only would the economy
suffer, but the biodiversity could never be restored. Even now, since population levels are so low,
scientist fear inbreeding could be next for these mammals (IUCN 2014). Already, Ebola has
killed 1/3 of the entire populations of western gorillas and it does not appear to be slowing down
(Le Gouar 2005). Only 125,000 gorillas remain and in three generations, that total could be
reduced to nothing due to the high amounts of infection and hunting rates. Enforcing the
poaching laws has accomplished nothing, deforestation continues; the only option left would be
vaccinations. Vaccinations, while not cheap, provide a hope for these animals and lessens human
deaths caused by the virus transferring from animal to human. If the population goes extinct, the

problem will not end; there will always be another population, another species, another animal,
on the brink of extinction. Once this cycle starts, the damage will be irreversible. Hence,
vaccinations should be furthered researched in order to stop the continued spread of the Ebola
Virus.

References
Fausther-Bovendo H, Mulangu S, Sullivan N (2013) Ebola Vaccines for Humans and
Apes. Current Opinion in Virology 2(3): 324329. doi:
10.1016/j.coviro.2012.04.003
G. Olinger, J. Pettitt, D. Kim, C. Working, O. Bohorov (2012) Delayed treatment of
Ebola virus infection with plant-derived monoclonal antibodies provides
protection in rhesus macaques. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Science of the United States of America vol. 109 no. 44
K. Warfield, J. Goetzmann, J. Biggins, P. Walsh. (2013) Vaccinating captive
chimpanzees to save wild chimpanzees. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Science of the United States of America vol. 111 no. 24, 8873-8876
Peter D. Walsh, Thomas Breuer, Crickette Sanz, David Morgan, and
Diane Doran
SheehyThe American Naturalist, Vol. 169, No. 5 (May 2007), pp. 684-689
P. Le Gouar, D. Vallet, L. David, M.Bermejo (2009) How Ebola Impacts Genetics of
Western Lowland Gorilla Populations. PLOS One DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0008375

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. Gorilla gorilla. 29
September 2014.
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/9404/0

US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health (2007) Ebola virus-like

particle
based vaccine protects nonhuman primates against lethal Ebola
virus challenge. US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort
Detrick, MD

US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health (2009) Single-injection

vaccine protects nonhuman primates against infection with marburg virus and
three species of ebola virus. Department of Microbiology, National Emerging
Infectious Diseases Laboratories Institute, Boston University School of Medicine,
Boston, Massachusetts

US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health (2013) Vesicular

stomatitis virus based vaccines protect nonhuman primates against Bundibugyo
ebolavirus. Galveston National Laboratory, University of Texas Medical
Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America ; Department of
Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch,
Galveston, Texas. Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research,
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes ofHealth,
Hamilton, Montana

Y. Tsuda, P. Caposio, C. Parkins, S. Botto (2011) A Replicating Cytomegalovirus-Based

Vaccine Encoding a Single Ebola Virus Nucleoprotein CTL Epitope Confers
Protection
against Ebola Virus. PLOS One doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001275

Natural Resource
issues of Under
Developed Countries

Disease transfer
from animals to
humans

Possible, experimental
Possible,
experimental
vaccinations used
used for
for
vaccinations
humans
humans

Which strands of Ebola

should gorillas be
treated for

Western Gorillas in the

Congo experiencing
drastic population
decrease

How to administer the

vaccines safely,
effectively to gorillas

Consequences to
biosystem if vaccine
fails

Ways to
to administer:
administer: oral
oral
Ways
bait or
or darting:
darting: have
have to
to
bait
consider cost
cost to
to country
country
consider
(funds)
(funds)

Determine which
populations are at most
risk: They receive first
priority in vaccines

Gorillas receiving and

Gorillas
receiving
and
passing on
on Ebola
Ebola to
to
passing
humans
humans

Preventing gorillas from

contracting Ebola

Recent/Current Ebola
outbreak in Western
Africa