Healthy Children: Healthy Apes

For the past 3 years we have been collecting clinical samples to elucidate how viruses that cause pediatric respiratory infections move from children to the wild chimpanzees of the Kyanyawara community in Kibale National Park, Uganda, potentially causing fatal sickness.

In January DMV/PhD student Taylor Weary and Kasiisi Project Health Staff shared their initial results with the people who generously allowed us to continue to collect nasal swabs from themselves and their children throughout the pandemic. Presentations were also made to local government health officials and the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
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In 2022, thanks to funding from the Arcus Foundation, we expanded the project to collect samples from 3 other great ape sites, two chimpanzee and one mountain Gorilla, and changed the name of the project from Healthy Children: Healthy Chimps to Healthy Children: Healthy Apes.