The health of the gorillas is inextricably linked to that of the entire ecosystem—the local people, tourists, domestic animals, and other wildlife as well as the soil, air, plants, and water they rely on.  The relationship is dynamic, given the movements of people and animals in and out of the park, creating countless opportunities for the exchange of diseases.  Ecotourism, which generates the funding necessary to conserve the mountain gorilla, adds to the risk. Visitors to the forest may inadvertently introduce a virus or bacteria that could sicken the gorillas.

Fortunately, most health problems among the wild gorillas involve individual cases of illness or injury.  The potential exists, however, for a disease outbreak to occur.  Our research has shown that people, cattle, and mountain gorillas share genetically identical intestinal pathogens, e.g., Giardia.  Viral screening performed on samples collected from wild gorillas also reveals a range of antibody titers to select human pathogens, such as hepatitis and influenza; the population appears naïve to such diseases as polio, measles, and TB.  Furthermore, most habituated gorillas live close to park boundaries, some have developed a preference for planted eucalyptus or bamboo, and plenty of other species cross their paths, from buffalo to cows and humans.

These facts underscore the importance of a “one-health” approach to gorilla medicine.  Everything is connected.  The school children in a nearby village may never see a real mountain gorilla, but their lives are connected nevertheless.  In order to maintain a healthy population of gorillas, we strive to create an umbrella of health for all species that come into contact with the gorillas and their habitat—with particular emphasis on humans and domestic animals.

Toward this end, the MGVP staff not only monitor and treat gorillas, they conduct relevant health studies of other wildlife and domestic animals, provide employee health programs for park staff and researchers, and disseminate information about the health of gorillas and other animals, wild and domestic.