ResultsĪssociations with survivorship were evaluated by utilizing DNA obtained from fecal samples from 16 gorilla individuals declared missing after the outbreak (non-survivors) and 15 individuals observed before and after the epidemic (survivors). Here, we explore the immediate genetic impact of the Ebola outbreak in the western lowland gorilla population.
The 2004 outbreak at the Odzala-Kokoua National Park (Republic of Congo) alone caused a severe decline in the resident western lowland gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla) population, with a 95% mortality rate.
Besides human fatalities, gorillas and chimpanzees have also succumbed to the fatal virus. Numerous Ebola virus outbreaks have occurred in Equatorial Africa over the past decades.
