Minimizing Pathogen Transmission at Primate Ecotourism Destinations: The Need for Input from Travel Medicine

Tourism generates more than 9% of the global gross domestic product and may account for almost half of the gross domestic product in developing countries with biodiversity‐rich areas.1,2 Nature‐based tourism accounts for a growing proportion of international tourism activity. Ecotourism is a sustainable version of nature tourism with the following components: Ecotourism accounts for a significant proportion of all international tourism, and revenue generated by these activities could enhance economic opportunities for local residents, support environmental education, and protect the natural and cultural heritage of the area, including the conservation of biodiversity and improvement of local facilities.4 Ecotourism is increasingly seen as a means to promote wildlife conservation, increase public awareness, and raise revenue for protecting endangered species. Unfortunately, rapid, unmonitored development of ecotourism projects can lead to degradation of habitats and deleterious effects on animal well‐being. Habituation of animals to human presence can increase the likelihood that animals will actively seek out contact with humans, particularly in the form of crop raiding and invasion of garbage pits, latrines, and human households. Habituation may lead to alterations in animal stress responses, and this may lead to immunosuppression, increasing susceptibility to infectious diseases, and decreasing reproductive success. Other risks may include pollution, crowding, introduction of invasive species, and transmission of pathogens through direct and indirect infection routes. Zoonotic (nonhuman animal to human) and anthropozoonotic (human to nonhuman animal) infection transmission are of vital consideration, given the increasing demand from tourists to … Corresponding Author: Michael P. Muehlenbein, PhD, MsPH, Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, 701 E. Kirkwood Ave., Student Building 130, Bloomington, IN 47405‐7000, USA. E‐mail: mpm1{at}indiana.edu