VaccinApe Phase 1

We are now in a “proof of concept” phase which will demonstrate that wild apes can be vaccinated safely, economically, and with rigorous assays of vaccination effectiveness. This phase will include screening of adjuvants to enhance immune response to vaccination, safety testing of an Ebola vaccine on captive chimpanzees (without Ebola exposure), development of non-invasive (fecal) assays for estimating immunization rate in the field, a measles vaccination field pilot to fine tune safe vaccine delivery methods and validate field assays, conditional veterinary licensing of an Ebola vaccine with the US Department of Agriculture, modeling of vaccination cost-effectiveness relative to other conservation efforts, and finally, a pilot study in which gorillas will be vaccinated against Ebola using a hypodermic dart. Most of the funding has already been secured for the first phase, which will take place over the next two years.

VaccinApe Phase 2

We have chosen to start with a darted vaccine because it entails fewer technical, safety, and cost problems than a promising alternate method of vaccine delivery, oral baiting. However, darting limits the number of apes that can be vaccinated. Consequently, Phase II will focus on dart vaccination of hundreds of gorillas and chimpanzees that have been habituated to human presence against both Ebola and human respiratory viruses. Habituated apes have disproportionate conservation value because of the revenue and local support generated by ape tourism as well as the international exposure provide by films about ape research and the conservation efforts of researchers. The vaccination program will include epidemiological and demographic studies to quantify immunization rate and population impact. In parallel to the dart vaccination program, field and laboratory work will be used to develop effective oral baiting systems and oral vaccine formulations.

VaccinApe Phase 3

In the third and final phase of the project we will vaccinate large numbers (thousands) of unhabituated apes against Ebola and respiratory viruses with the objective of maintaining the viability of entire ape populations.

Over the last two decades the Ebola virus has killed about one third of the world gorilla population and large numbers of chimpanzees. If this continues, the death toll may rise to one half of the world gorilla population. Human respiratory viruses are also a growing threat to wild apes. However, this need not happen. There now are at least six different vaccines that have successfully protected laboratory monkeys against the Ebola challenge and none have shown serious side effects. This is the rare case in which vaccine testing on non-human primates could actually help the conservation of critically endangered non-human primates, as the Ebola vaccines intended for human use would likely protect gorillas and chimpanzees.

Since 2003, We have been agitating for one of the Ebola vaccines in development for humans to be used to protect wild apes. These efforts have gradually evolved into VaccinApe, a loose consortium of individuals and institutions. Because of concerns about the safety of vaccinating wild apes we have gone to great lengths to solicit input from a wide range of primatologists, virologists, vaccine labs, and conservationists, including large expert workshops in 2004 and 2008. The consensus of the experts is that if the process is approached in a rigorous, scientific manner, wild ape vaccination would be safe, effective, and affordable. They also recommend that, for reasons of safety, technical complexity, and cost, a darted vaccine should first be used to vaccinate the relatively small number of gorillas and chimpanzees in research and tourism programs. However, in the long term the most effective way to protect larger numbers of wild apes against Ebola and other disease threats such as human respiratory viruses would be vaccines delivered in oral baits.

Since 2003, We have been agitating for one of the Ebola vaccines in development for humans to be used to protect wild apes. These efforts have gradually evolved into VaccinApe, a loose consortium of individuals and institutions. Because of concerns about the safety of vaccinating wild apes we have gone to great lengths to solicit input from a wide range of primatologists, virologists, vaccine labs, and conservationists, including large expert workshops in 2004 and 2008. The consensus of the experts is that if the process is approached in a rigorous, scientific manner, wild ape vaccination would be safe, effective, and affordable. They also recommend that, for reasons of safety, technical complexity, and cost, a darted vaccine should first be used to vaccinate the relatively small number of gorillas and chimpanzees in research and tourism programs. However, in the long term the most effective way to protect larger numbers of wild apes against Ebola and other disease threats such as human respiratory viruses would be vaccines delivered in oral baits.