Bocaparvoviruses are members of the family Parvovirinae and human bocaviruses have been found to be associated with respiratory and gastrointestinal disease. There are four known human bocaviruses, as well as several distinct ones in great apes. The goal of the presented study was to detect other non-human primate (NHP) bocaviruses in NHP species in the Democratic Republic of the Congo using conventional broad-range PCR. We found bocavirus DNA in blood and tissues samples in 6 out of 620 NHPs, and all isolates showed very high identity (>97 %) with human bocaviruses 2 or 3. These findings suggest cross-species transmission of bocaviruses between humans and NHPs.
Keywords: Africa; Bocavirus; Congo; emerging disease; primate; zoonosis.