A serious disease appears on chimpanzees in West Africa for the first time ever

Scientists are searching for possible sources of infection to explain the first-ever case of leprosy in chimpanzees in West Africa.

Wildlife scientists detected symptoms of the disease on a group of chimpanzees in the Cantanhez National Park in Guinea-Bissau, and more than a thousand miles away in the Tai National Park in Ivory Coast, according to a new report published by the scientific journal, "Science" in the United States.

"I have never seen this disease in chimpanzees," said Fabian Linditz, a veterinarian who specializes in wildlife, who runs a research site in Ivory Coast National Park.

The disease also known as "Hansen's Disease" appears among humans in most cases as a result of catching mycobacteria, and it infected about 12 million people around the world in the mid-eighties before scientists developed antibiotic treatment, according to the American "New York Post".