Don’t Eat That Smuggled Monkey: HIV-Related Virus Found in Illegally Imported Bushmeat

Scientists have begun testing “bushmeat” — meat from African wild game including apes, monkeys, rodents and bats — that has been smuggled into the United States, and have found a virus related to HIV.  The research is part of a pilot program begun in 2008 by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Wildlife Conservation Society, which operates the Bronx Zoo and other New York City wildlife parks.

In a presentation at Rockefeller University on Wednesday, Dr. Kristine Smith, a Wildlife Conservation Society veterinarian, said the viruses that were found have been shown to infect humans, but are not known to cause disease.  Dr. William Karesh, a veterinarian in charge of WCS health programs, sees the viruses as clear cause for concern:

To hit pay dirt right in the beginning, it’s surprising, because the assumption was viruses in this material would be very rare and very difficult to find, but it’s not turning out to be that way, which is scary because a lot of this material is coming into the U.S.

… we’re very quickly saying, there are these three viruses, who knows what else is in there.

The viruses were found in spot checks of “hundreds of samples” from at least 14 species.  Tests showed two different strains of simian foamy viruses, from three different species of monkeys.  The viruses are related to the simian immunodeficiency virus, which has been found in bushmeat tested outside of the US and is considered by scientists to be responsible for the first cases of HIV.

In 2007, the nonprofit Bushmeat Crisis Task Force estimated that 15,000 pounds of bushmeat a month is smuggled into the US. Only a small fraction is confiscated, and the federal Fish and Wildlife Service has only 10 inspectors in New York.  Bushmeat smugglers are rarely prosecuted, and even when they are, they typically get a slap on the wrist. In December, Mamie Manneh, a Liberian immigrant living  on Staten Island, was sentenced to probation by a New York federal court for smuggling and selling monkey meat.

Beyond diseases, bushmeat also presents a huge conservation issue.  According to Richard Ruggiero, who works on international bushmeat issues for the Fish and Wildlife Service:

In Africa today, many wildlife populations are being eaten to extinction. The greatest impact to wildlife populations in Africa is the bushmeat trade.

Ruggiero also points out that the meat is prized by some immigrant communities, especially those from West Africa.

Of course, there’s also the gross-out factor:

• Dr. Smith: “We get these big boxes of meat. Sometimes you see primate heads or hands in there.”
• Nina Marano, a scientist at the CDC: “People will claim it’s smoked or it’s dried but we have pulled samples out of packages with meat on the bone, juice in the bag, still bloody.”

[Image: Living in the now]