February 20, 2002 WASHINGTON (AP) - The killing of gorillas, chimpanzees and other primates for food is threatening AIDS research and may cause diseases to spread, scientists said.
"There is no doubt humans are exposed" to different infections through the spilled blood of chimpanzees and other animals killed in west and central Africa, said Dr. Beatrice H. Hahn of the University of Alabama at Birmingham at a briefing on Capitol Hill.
Hahn said illegal commercial trading of "bushmeat" - sold around the world although the biggest market is in the urban areas of Cameroon, Congo and elsewhere in central Africa - could have a severe effect on human health if it isn't stopped.
A smaller chimp population also hurts scientists' efforts to find cures for hepatitis, Ebola virus and other deadly diseases.
"Chimps are the most important medical research animals ... not just for HIV/AIDS," said Dr. Eric Chivian, director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard University. "This seems to me the best example of destroying other species is ultimately destroying ourselves."
International treaties and national laws already make hunting endangered species illegal, which is supposed to protect chimpanzees, gorillas and other great apes.
The total value of the bushmeat trade has been estimated at $50 million annually.
Logging in previously inaccessible parts of the jungle also is opening up chimp habitats to more hunters. So the scientists are working, along with foreign governments, to teach people that killing the chimps is extremely dangerous for public health.
"It is a bloody enterprise," Hahn said.
"We are in danger of losing our closest living relatives in the wild," added primatologist Jane Goodall. The bushmeat trade "is not sustainable for the indigenous populations or the forest," she said.
Many scientists believe HIV originates from a similar virus found in wild chimpanzees that probably jumped to humans through exposure to primate blood, such as during hunting and food preparation.
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
