Gauging the Effectiveness of Yellow Fever Vaccine for Monkeys

SUMMARY: Researchers will assess if the currently available yellow fever vaccine for humans is equally safe and effective in New World primates as a tool to address disease outbreaks.  

THE PROBLEM: Mosquitoes typically transmit yellow fever, a hemorrhagic disease that affects both people and monkeys. Just like people, monkeys are susceptible to the disease, which leads to severe liver damage and, frequently, death. In Brazil, there are regions affected by periodic outbreaks. During the last outbreak of yellow fever (2016-2018), many monkeys died, leading to the disappearance of entire family groups in some affected regions. Although people control the disease through vaccination, there is a need to provide more information regarding its safety and effectiveness in monkeys.  

THE PROJECT: To fill this knowledge gap, researchers will evaluate the safety and protective capacity of the existing yellow fever vaccine in different species of monkeys. Building on earlier data, the team will vaccinate and monitor neotropical new world primates living at the Belo Horizonte Zoological Garden in Brazil, including tamarin, capuchin, spider and howler monkeys. 

POTENTIAL IMPACT: The yellow fever vaccine has been successfully used for over 80 years to control the disease in humans. If the existing yellow fever vaccine works in nonhuman primates, conservationists could use this new tool to prevent the disease and save many threatened and at-risk monkey species.