Stopping schistosomes from 'monkeying-around' in chimpanzees

Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary (NICS) in Lake Victoria, Uganda is currently home to 44 wild-borne, semi-captive chimpanzees. Despite regular veterinary health checks, it only came to light recently that many animals, and sanctuary staff, were naturally infected with Schistosoma mansoni. Indeed, local schistosome transmission appears firmly engrained for intermediate snail hosts can be found along almost the entirety of Ngamba's shoreline. Here, the epidemiology of infection is a dynamic interplay between human and chimpanzee populations, as revealed by genetic analyses of S. mansoni. In this review, our present understanding of this complex and evolving situation is discussed, alongside general disease control activities in Uganda, to highlight future interventions towards stopping schistosome morbidity and transmission within this conservation sanctuary setting.