Everyone involved in the research and combating of leishmaniasis in Brazil know that Belo Horizonte, capital of Minas Gerais state, is an endemic area. The Zoo of the city is at the apex of this area and has contaminated animals for many years, and continues to have. The one who ignores this information is the Director of the Zoo. In a newspaper article he denied the existence of sick animals.

Leishmaniasis is an infection caused by Leishmania chagasi, transmitted by a mosquito. Dogs are the most common hosts of the parasite, infecting mosquitoes that feed on their blood and these , in turn , transmit the disease to humans and great apes. The Ministry of Health estimates that the lethality of the disease is 90%, when there is no treatment early in the manifestation of evil.

The Manual of Surveillance and Control of Visceral Leishmaniasis in Brazil, edited by the Ministry of Health, determines that infected animals should be euthanized and not undergoing treatment since it is not considered an effective procedure. And euthanasia of the dogs, criticized and controversial, has been the practice of the Zoonosis Control Center of Belo Horizonte, in relation to street dogs and privately owned.

The response from the Zoo to an article published in a local newspaper in which  GAP Project revealed that it denounced to the UN GRASP Project , which cares for Great Apes in the world , the irresponsibility of Belo Horizonte Zoo and zoos in England and Spain ( that have sent gorillas – without immunity to tropical diseases – to this zoo , where two gorillas have recently died of unexplained causes ), is that they use the repellent collars in the animals suspected to be contaminated , to prevent mosquitoes from biting them and transmitting the disease to humans and other animals.

It is virtually impossible in a zoo in the city, with plenty of trees, with many potentially contaminated animals, to spray an insecticide to kill the mosquitoes, which is another of the explanations given by the Zoo to control the infection.

Visceral leishmaniasis is even more dangerous than Dengue disease . The federal health authorities have not given the importance, as it is a disease of the poor and all attempts to mount a current and effective strategy to combat it have been ignored.

GAP Project asked the United Nations to ban the sending of Great Apes for this Zoo , which is a potential center of transmission of this disease  and  is fatal to all primates , humans and non-humans..

Dr. Pedro A. Ynterian

President , GAP Project International