'CDC failed to warn public': Monkeys imported to US from Cambodia carried deadly viruses, bacteria - report

Experts have urged the government and other authorities in the United States to raise investment in lab monkey breeding programmes and stop importing non-human primates for laboratory use.

Concerns were raised when documents from the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that deadly pathogenic agents, zoonotic bacteria and viruses entered the country with imported monkeys.

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The monkeys were imported from Asia between 2018 and 2021, The Guardian reported after seeing the documents, which were obtained by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta).

Also, a case study by the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science revealed that there have been six cases of Burkholderia pseudomallei identified in primates imported from Cambodia to the US.

As per the report, US-listed Charles River and Inotiv are among the largest suppliers of lab monkeys to the pharmaceutical industry recently issued a warning to investors that they expect disruption to US imports from Cambodia, a report by the Financial Times stated.

Dr Lisa Jones-Engel, who is a Peta senior science adviser, told The Guardian, "There is no indication that the CDC or research industries have been transparent with the public about these diseased monkeys."

As quoted by Financial Times, Matthew Bailey, the president at the National Association for Biomedical Research, said, "If companies and academic researchers can't get the non-human primate [monkeys] research models they need — then the work stops. You can say goodbye to new vaccines and drugs."

Bailey added that "it is of crucial importance to public health and national security."

The report further mentioned a case study of Melioidosis, which is an uncommon but potentially fatal disease in humans caused by the bacterium B pseudomallei.

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The bacteria are native to southeast Asia and are brought on by contact with the pathogen through soil or water. According to the CDC, B pseudomallei is a "Tier 1 select agent" with the potential to be used in bioterrorism and has a death rate of up to 50 per cent.

In a research paper, which was published last week, details of a case are mentioned when one of the macaques in the US was diagnosed with B pseudomallei. The primate entered the US from Cambodia by air with 359 other macaques and was in quarantine when the diagnosis was done in Texas in January 2021.

In America, the imported non-human primates, or NHPs, are held in CDC-mandated quarantine for 31 days while undergoing testing for infectious diseases.

Amid concerns, the macaque was euthanized and other monkeys shipped with the infected monkey "appeared healthy at the end of the quarantine period and were released from CDC-mandated quarantine", the report mentioned.

The report titled "Melioidosis in a Cynomolgus Macaque Imported to the United States from Cambodia", stated that the global movement of humans and animals can introduceB pseudomalleiinto nonendemic regions of the United States.

As quoted by Guardian, Jones-Engel said: "Monkeys imported from Asia can harbour the Burkholderia pathogen for months, shedding the bacteria via their feces, urine, blood and saliva into the environment. The CDC knows the danger to humans and has failed to warn the public."

The study suggested that in order to prevent the introduction of infectious agents to the US, CDC requires newly imported primates to be "quarantined for at least 31 d, during which time their health is closely monitored".

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