AN OUTBREAK OF INFECTIOUS HEPATITIS AMONG CHIMPANZEE HANDLERS AT A UNITED STATES AIR FORCE BASE1

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Abstract
An outbreak of infectious hepatitis among handlers of chimpanzees at a military installation is reported. Over a 17-month period, 11 recognized cases occurred in a group of 21 intimate handlers of recently captured, young apes. Incidence of the disease in control groups did not exceed 3.7 per 1000 for the same period of time. Personnel handling older chimpanzees in the established colony showed no hepatitis. Epidemiological studies revealed no environmental differences in the human groups, other than their exposure to the implicated young chimpanzees, some or all of which had been injected with whole human blood intraperitoneally. No evidence of viral hepatitis was discovered in the animals, although several of the apes died, presumably of parasitic disease, pneumonitis, or both, as found at necropsy. The evidence is highly suggestive that certain chimpanzees may act as car-riers of human hepatitis virus.

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