Treponemal Infection in Nonhuman Primates as Possible Reservoir for Human Yaws

摘要

The success of any eradication campaign depends on the absence of a nonhuman reservoir. Smallpox had no known animal reservoir, and polio and dracunculiasis (guinea worm disease), which are currently the focus of the World Health Organization eradication campaigns, also have none. By contrast, compelling evidence suggests that yaws exists in wild nonhuman primate populations residing in regions where humans are also infected (Figure).