@article {314468, title = {Persistent anthrax as a major driver of wildlife mortality in a tropical rainforest}, journal = {Nature}, volume = {548}, year = {2017}, month = {2017/08/03/print}, pages = {82 - 86}, abstract = {

Anthrax is a globally important animal disease and zoonosis. Despite this, our current knowledge of anthrax ecology is largely limited to arid ecosystems, where outbreaks are most commonly reported1,\ 2,\ 3. Here we show that the dynamics of an anthrax-causing agent,\ Bacillus cereus\ biovar\ anthracis, in a tropical rainforest have severe consequences for local wildlife communities. Using data and samples collected over three decades, we show that rainforest anthrax is a persistent and widespread cause of death for a broad range of mammalian hosts. We predict that this pathogen will accelerate the decline and possibly result in the extirpation of local chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) populations. We present the epidemiology of a cryptic pathogen and show that its presence has important implications for conservation.

}, isbn = {0028-0836}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature23309}, url = {http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v548/n7665/full/nature23309.html?foxtrotcallback=true}, author = {Hoffmann, Constanze and Zimmermann, Fee and Biek, Roman and Kuehl, Hjalmar and Nowak, Kathrin and Mundry, Roger and Agbor, Anthony and Angedakin, Samuel and Arandjelovic, Mimi and Blankenburg, Anja and Brazolla, Gregory and Corogenes, Katherine and Couacy-Hymann, Emmanuel and Deschner, Tobias and Dieguez, Paula and Dierks, Karsten and D{\"u}x, Ariane and Dupke, Susann and Eshuis, Henk and Formenty, Pierre and Yuh, Yisa Ginath and Goedmakers, Annemarie and Gogarten, Jan F. and Granjon, Anne-C{\'e}line and McGraw, Scott and Grunow, Roland and Hart, John and Jones, Sorrel and Junker, Jessica and Kiang, John and Langergraber, Kevin and Lapuente, Juan and Lee, Kevin and Leendertz, Siv Aina and L{\'e}guillon, Floraine and Leinert, Vera and L{\"o}hrich, Therese and Marrocoli, Sergio and M{\"a}tz-Rensing, Kerstin and Meier, Amelia and Merkel, Kevin and Metzger, Sonja and Murai, Mizuki and Niedorf, Svenja and De Nys, H{\'e}l{\`e}ne and Sachse, Andreas and van Schijndel, Joost and Thiesen, Ulla and Ton, Els and Wu, Doris and Wieler, Lothar H. and Boesch, Christophe and Klee, Silke R. and Wittig, Roman M. and Calvignac-Spencer, S{\'e}bastien and Leendertz, Fabian H.} }