High level of inter-species transmission of simian foamy virus from non-human primates to humans in Gabon, central Africa

Abstract : Each of the pathogenic human retroviruses (HIV-1/2 and HTLV-1) has a non-human primate (NHP) counterpart, and the presence of these retroviruses in humans results from interspecies transmission. The passage of another simian retrovirus, simian foamy virus (SFV), from NHPs to humans has been reported. Here, we evaluated the natural history of SFV in a free-ranging colony of mandrills (CIRMF primate center) and in mandrills living in natura in Gabon (central Africa). We also determined the SFV prevalence in a series of 497 NHP living in different parts of Gabon. Lastly, we investigated the possible transmission of SFVs to humans.