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Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 2(5), 1953, pp. 850-863
Copyright © 1953 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Naturally Acquired Yellow Fever in Wild Monkeys of Costa Rica1

Oscar Vargas-Mendez2 AND Norman W. Elton3
Ministerio de Salubridad Publica, San José, Costa Rica, and the Board of Health Laboratory, Health Bureau, Ancon, Panama Canal Zone

The acquisition of liver specimens for histopathologic examination from monkeys during the activity of the current epizoötic of yellow fever in Costa Rica has demonstrated that the progress of a wave of the sylvan (jungle) form of the disease can be traced in this manner as well as by similar studies on human fatalities. Out of 35 specimens obtained in Costa Rica, 24 are considered to exhibit the typical liver lesion. It was possible to secure satisfactory specimens in only about 10 per cent of the investigations of the reports of the presence of dead monkeys in the localities involved. An analysis of this experience will be applied to the formulation of a project designed to attempt to check the movement of the wave in the vicinity of La Ceiba, Honduras, in order to prevent involvement of northern Guatemala and Yucatan.

The histopathologic features of yellow fever in the livers and kidneys of the arboreal primates closely parallel those found in man. The Councilman necrosis in the liver, as well as the heme casts, basophilic concretions and colloid material ("lime casts") in the kidney tubules are highly resistant to postmortem autolysis. Intranuclear acidophilic inclusions (Torres bodies) were found in a large percentage of the monkey livers, and an evaluation of their diagnostic significance is now in progress.


1 The authors wish gratefully to acknowledge the assistance rendered by the sanitary inspectors, local authorities, yellow fever vaccination squads, and all the citizens of Costa Rica who cooperated so effectively in obtaining the specimens from the monkeys and transmitting them to the Ministry of Health in San José.


2 Director General de Salubridad.


3 Commanding Officer, Chemical Corps Medical Laboratories, Army Chemical Center, Maryland.






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