Molecular epidemiological study of adenovirus infecting western lowland gorillas and humans in and around Moukalaba-Doudou National Park (Gabon)

Adenoviruses are widespread in human population as well as in great apes, although the data about the naturally occurring adenovirus infections remain rare. We conducted the surveillance of adenovirus infection in wild western lowland gorillas in Moukalaba-Doudou National Park (Gabon), in order to investigate naturally occurring adenovirus in target gorillas and tested specifically a possible zoonotic transmission with local people inhabiting the vicinity of the park. Fecal samples were collected from western lowland gorillas and humans, and analyzed by PCR. We detected adenoviral genes in samples from both gorillas and the local people living around the national park, respectively: the overall prevalence rates of adenovirus were 24.1 and 35.0 % in gorillas and humans, respectively. Sequencing revealed that the adenoviruses detected in the gorillas were members of Human mastadenovirus B (HAdV-B), HAdV-C, or HAdV-E, and those in the humans belonged to HAdV-C or HAdV-D. Although HAdV-C members were detected in both gorillas and humans, phylogenetic analysis revealed that the virus detected in gorillas are genetically distinct from those detected in humans. The HAdV-C constitutes a single host lineage which is compatible with the host-pathogen divergence. However, HAdV-B and HAdV-E are constituted by multiple host lineages. Moreover, there is no evidence of zoonotic transmission thus far. Since the gorilla-to-human transmission of adenovirus has been shown before, the current monitoring should be continued in a broader scale for getting more insights in the natural history of naturally occurring adenoviruses and for the safe management of gorillas’ populations.