ALVEOLAR ECHINOCOCCOSIS IN WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLAS (GORILLA GORILLA GORILLA): ALBENDAZOLE WAS NOT ABLE TO STOP PROGRESSION OF THE DISEASE.

Wenker, Christian; Hoby, Stefan; Wyss, Fabia; Mengiardi, Bernard; Vögtli, Renate; Posthaus, Horst; Deplazes, Peter; Gottstein, Bruno (2019). ALVEOLAR ECHINOCOCCOSIS IN WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLAS (GORILLA GORILLA GORILLA): ALBENDAZOLE WAS NOT ABLE TO STOP PROGRESSION OF THE DISEASE. Journal of zoo and wildlife medicine, 50(1), pp. 243-253. American Association of Zoo Veterinarians 10.1638/2018-0064

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Echinococcus multilocularis is the etiologic agent of alveolar echinococcosis (AE), a severe and potentially fatal larval cestode infection primarily affecting the liver. AE is known to occur in dead-end intermediate hosts, including humans and nonhuman primates. Between 1999 and 2016, AE was diagnosed in seven western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), all from a Swiss zoo. Six gorillas died of the disease. One individual is still alive, receives continuous albendazole medication, and shows no clinical signs. Most infected animals remained asymptomatic for years. Only one young gorilla showed early signs of acute discomfort and abdominal pain. In the final stage of the disease, affected animals died suddenly, or showed a short course of nonspecific but severe clinical signs, including lethargy, recumbency, abdominal enlargement, and anorexia. Postmortem examination confirmed hepatic AE complicated by peritonitis in most cases. Echinococcus multilocularis infection may remain undetected because of a very long incubation period. Hematological and biochemical parameters rarely showed abnormalities in this phase. Thus, inclusion of abdominal hepatic ultrasound examination and serology is recommended for early AE detection in routine examinations of gorillas in endemic areas or where food is potentially contaminated with E. multilocularis eggs. Ultrasound or computed tomography was useful to monitor progression and to estimate the volumetric extension of the hepatic lesions. Current medication with albendazole, which proved to be effective for human patients, was not able to stop progression of hepatic lesions in gorillas. Therefore, its therapeutic value remains questionable in gorillas. However, long-term oral albendazole treatment proved to be safe, and therapeutic plasma levels published for humans were achieved. Preventive measures such as thermo-treatment of food or vaccination of gorillas and other nonhuman primates should be considered in areas where E. multilocularis is present.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Further Contribution)

Division/Institute:

05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP) > Institute of Animal Pathology
04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute for Infectious Diseases > Research
04 Faculty of Medicine > Service Sector > Institute for Infectious Diseases > Parasitology
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP) > Institute of Parasitology
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP)

UniBE Contributor:

Posthaus, Horst, Gottstein, Bruno

Subjects:

600 Technology > 630 Agriculture
600 Technology
600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health

ISSN:

1042-7260

Publisher:

American Association of Zoo Veterinarians

Language:

English

Submitter:

Bruno Gottstein

Date Deposited:

20 Jan 2020 09:09

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:35

Publisher DOI:

10.1638/2018-0064

PubMed ID:

31120685

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Albendazole Echinococcus multilocularis Gorilla gorilla gorilla alveolar echinococcosis western lowland gorilla

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/138678

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