Transmission of Diseases from Animals

Nathan Wolfe is a scientist who is working on preventing diseases from spreading out of the animal population and into humans.  HIV was one of these diseases that came from animals (chimpanzees).  The chimpanzees were hunted and caught for bushmeat.  Usually, when bushmeat is hunted, the hunter comes into contact with with the animal's blood - and that is how the diseases spread.  We never really catch the diseases when they are in that transition stage - before they adapt to humans.  This is what Nathan Wolfe is trying to do.  So far, he has made different stations throughout south africa to help to moniter the diseases before they spread.  He is doing this by giving hunters paper to take samples of the animal's blood, that they will then turn into one of his stations, where they will be tested for diseases.


Personally, I think that this is a great method of disease prevention - stopping the disease before it begins and the way that he is going about doing that.  I think that it is pretty amazing that people are still hunting primates (some of our closest relatives) for food.  Even more amazing is how much this practice impacts everyone else's lives in the rest of the world.  Who would have thought that some guy in africa who hunted a chimp would make so many people eventually accuire HIV and AIDS.  I think that trying to tackle this where it starts (in the bush) is the best possible way to stop more of these diseases from becoming worldwide.

Research Chimpanzees Leaving Retirement

The chimpanzees of the Alamogordo Primate Facility in New Mexico are being called back to be used as medical research lab animals after 10 years of retirement.  The 186 chimps have already been used as research animals and moving them back to the research facility has sparked many debates.  If they were to be moved, they would join about 150 other chimps in an environment that is a lot like where they live now in New Mexico.  In the new facility, they would be allowed to socialize and go outdoors, unless it is required to be isolated. 

My personal opinion on animal testing in general, is that humans aren't any better than any other animal, so we shouldn't test on other intelligent beings when we really need to test on humans.  In addition, when you are testing on a different species that are locked up in isolation, you aren't going to get the same results that you would on a human in normal circumstances.  In this case however, it seems as if it might be different.  It doesn't seem like they would be keeping them in isolation, and it seems like they would be happy there.  On the other hand, you never know what could happen to them there.  It isn't guaranteed that they will be treated well.  Where they are now, they are safe. 

These chimps have been through a lot, and I don't think that they should have to go back to being tested, regardless of the conditions.