Résumé
Chimpanzees (
Pan troglodytes
) harbor rich assemblages of malaria parasites, including three species closely related to
P. falciparum
(sub-genus
Laverania
), the most malignant human malaria parasite. Here, we characterize the ecology and epidemiology of malaria infection in wild chimpanzee reservoirs. We used molecular assays to screen chimpanzee fecal samples, collected longitudinally and cross-sectionally from wild populations, for malaria parasite mitochondrial DNA. We found that chimpanzee malaria parasitism has an early age of onset and varies seasonally in prevalence. A subset of samples revealed
Hepatocystis
mitochondrial DNA, with phylogenetic analyses suggesting that
Hepatocystis
appears to cross species barriers more easily than
Laverania
. Longitudinal and cross-sectional sampling independently support the hypothesis that mean ambient temperature drives spatiotemporal variation in chimpanzee
Laverania
infection. Infection probability peaked at ~24.5 °C, consistent with the empirical transmission optimum of
P. falciparum
in humans. Forest cover was also positively correlated with spatial variation in
Laverania
prevalence, consistent with the observation that forest-dwelling Anophelines are the primary vectors. Extrapolating these relationships across equatorial Africa, we map spatiotemporal variation in the suitability of chimpanzee habitat for
Laverania
transmission, offering a hypothetical baseline indicator of human exposure risk.
Chimpanzees are known to suffer from malaria parasitism. Here, the prevalence and epidemiology of several malaria parasites is examined in a wild chimpanzee population.