Researchers illuminate the epidemiology of a cryptic pathogen

Anthrax, a disease so far not associated with tropical rain forests, is common in the Ivory Coast’s Taï National Park and is posing a serious threat to wildlife there. The bacterium could soon even cause the extinction of local chimpanzee populations. This is revealed in a study by scientists from the Robert Koch Institute, the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, the University of Glasgow, and the Ivorian National Animal Health Institute.