Anoplocephalid tapeworms in mountain gorillas () inhabiting the Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda.

Cestodes of the family Anoplocephalidae parasitize a wide range of usually herbivorous hosts including e.g. rodents, ungulates, primates, elephants and hyraxes.

Haemosporidia of grey crowned cranes in Rwanda.

Grey crowned cranes (Balearica regulorum) have been facing significant and long-term population declines in East Africa. Studies of Haemosporidian infections are essential to gain insight into pathogenic threats and help infer vector-host relationships, resolve parasite relationships, and support conservation efforts. As part of a program to reintroduce captive cranes in Rwanda back to their natural habitats, through health checks and initial microscopic examination, 120 grey crowned cranes were selected under suspicion of harboring Haemosporidian infections following initial peripheral blood smear examinations.

Heterogeneity in patterns of helminth infections across populations of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei).

Conservation efforts have led to the recovery of the endangered mountain gorilla populations. Due to their limited potential for spatial expansion, population densities increased, which may alter the epidemiology of infectious diseases. Recently, clinical gastrointestinal illnesses linked to helminth infections have been recorded in both gorilla populations.

Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Detected in Mountain Gorilla Respiratory Outbreaks.

Respiratory illness (RI) accounts for a large proportion of mortalities in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), and fatal outbreaks, including disease caused by human metapneumovirus (HMPV) infections, have heightened concern about the risk of human pathogen transmission to this endangered species, which is not only critically important to the biodiversity of its ecosystem but also to the economies of the surrounding human communities. Our goal was to conduct a molecular epidemiologic study to detect the presence of HRSV and HMPV in fecal samples from wild human-habituated free-ranging mountain gorillas in Rwanda and to evaluate the role of these viruses in RI outbreaks. Fecal samples were collected from gorillas with clinical signs of RI between June 2012 and February 2013 and tested by real-time and conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays; comparison fecal samples were obtained from gorillas without clinical signs of RI sampled during the 2010 Virunga gorilla population census.