CARMICHAEL REPLIES: Vaccinating animals is an intriguing idea and one that is clearly more applicable for vector - borne diseases with
nonhuman reservoirs (for example, vaccinating dogs to control both canine and human visceral leishmaniasis transmission).
The scientists have not only isolated an identical bacterium in monkeys suggesting that there is
a nonhuman reservoir, they now also discovered the pathogen on flies.
«If we can confirm that the flies transmit viable bacteria and that infected monkeys act as
a nonhuman reservoir, there will always be cases of yaws even if the disease is apparently eradicated due to medicine and hygienic measures,» says Knauf.
Not exact matches
As for its
nonhuman source, Kellam says: «It's conjecture until there's evidence of what the
reservoir is.»