Etiology of reactive arthritis in Pan paniscus, P. troglodytes troglodytes, and P. troglodytes schweinfurthii.

Etiology of reactive arthritis in Pan paniscus, P. troglodytes troglodytes, and P. troglodytes schweinfurthii.

Rothschild Bruce M; Ruhli Frank J

American journal of primatology

2005

2005-07

The character of arthritis has not received the same attention in Pan paniscus as it has in P. troglodytes. Reactive arthritis (a form of spondyloarthropathy) in the latter has been considered to be either a sexually transmitted or an infectious-agent diarrhea-related disorder. The unique sexual promiscuity of P. paniscus enables us to distinguish between those hypotheses. The macerated skeletons of 139 adult P. paniscus, P. troglodytes troglodytes, and P. troglodytes schweinfurthii were macroscopically analyzed for osseous and articular pathologies. The sex of the animal was recorded at the time of acquisition. Twenty-one percent of the P. paniscus, 28% of the P. t. troglodytes, and 27% of the P. t. schweinfurthii specimens had peripheral and central joint erosive disease characteristic of spondyloarthropathy. Subchondral pauciarticular distribution and reactive new bone clearly distinguish this disease from rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and direct bone/joint infection. The fact that P. paniscus and P. t. troglodytes were similar in terms of disease frequency makes the notion of sexual transmission unlikely. While the frequencies of spondyloarthropathy were indistinguishable among all species/subspecies studied, the patterns of joint involvement were disparate. The Pan paniscus and P. t. troglodytes home ranges are geographically separate. We assessed possible habitat factors (e.g., exposure to specific infectious agents of diarrhea) by comparing P. paniscus and P. t. troglodytes with P. t. schweinfurthii. The latter shared similar patterns and habitats (separated by the Congo River) with P. paniscus. The explanation offered for habitat-specific patterns is differential bacterial exposure-most likely Shigella or Yersinia in P. paniscus and P. t. schweinfurthii.

*Environment; *Pan paniscus; *Pan troglodytes; Africa South of the Sahara; Animal/*physiology; Animals; Ape Diseases/*etiology/*pathology; Arthritis; Bone and Bones/pathology; Joints/pathology; Reactive/etiology/pathology/*veterinary; Sexual Behavior; Species Specificity

Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

219–231

3

66