An outbreak of poliomyelitis caused by poliovirus type I in captive black and white colobus monkeys ( Colobus abyssinicus kikuyuensis) in Kenya

• Published in: Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Vol. 78; no. 5; pp. 665 - 669
• Main Authors: Suleman, M.A., Johnson, B.J., Tarara, R., Sayer, P.D., Ochieng, D.M., Muli, J.M., Mbete, E., Tukei, P.M., Ndirangu, D., Kago, S., Else, J.G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 1984; Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animal viral diseases; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Cercopithecidae; Cerebral Cortex - pathology; Colobus; Disease Outbreaks - veterinary; Female; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Monkey Diseases - microbiology; Monkey Diseases - pathology; Poliomyelitis - microbiology; Poliomyelitis - pathology; Poliomyelitis - veterinary; Poliovirus - isolation & purification; Spinal Cord - pathology; Viral diseases; Epidemic; Nervous system diseases; Picornaviridae; Africa; Monkey; Enterovirus; Acute anterior poliomyelitis; Kenya; Epidemiology; Infection; Virus; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Viral disease; Primates; Poliovirus 1
• ISSN: 0035-9203; 1878-3503
• DOI: 10.1016/0035-9203(84)90235-9

In the latter part of 1982, three black and white colobus monkeys, Colobus abyssinicus kikuyuensis, from a small breeding group maintained at the Institute of Primate Research in Kenya, became paralysed within one month. Two of these cases were fatal and the third animal survived. The clinical and pathological findings suggested a poliomyelitis-like disease. This was confirmed by the isolation of wild strains of poliomyelitis virus type I from faeces, spleen, kidney, lung and central nervous system from affected animals.