[Former vaccine test subjects receive comprehensive health exams at new refuge in Liberia]
The West African chimpanzees underwent examinations spanning dental cleaning to X‑rays and pedicure at the Humane World for Animals’ Second Chance Refugе in central Liberia, according to the sanctuary’s director, Liliana Pacheco Ricote, who spoke with The Associated Press.
Over four hundred chimpanzees contributed to hepatitis‑B vaccine studies conducted in Liberia from the 1970s through the early‑2000s, most of which were captured as infant wildlife, Ricote noted.
Libreania hosts the second‑largest population of West African chimpanzees after Guinea, and this subspecies remains critically endangered due to a rapid decline in numbers.
Ricote described their prior involvement as highly invasive and painful, highlighting the extensive suffering experienced during those studies.
In 2015, Humane World for Animals assumed full custodial responsibility for sixty remaining individuals, and today they primarily reside at the sanctuary on mangrove‑littered islands.
Performed under anesthesia, the examinations provide a head‑to‑toe health assessment aimed at detecting early disease markers and customizing care strategies as the animals age, the organization stated to the Associated Press.
Among the diagnostics were thorough dental evaluations, cardiac, pulmonary, and neurological assessments, plus blood work. Booster vaccinations and minor nail trims were administered, with further examinations scheduled for the survivors.
Sanctuary veterinarian Belén Pérez Hernández remarked, “These health screenings are essential for providing compassionate care to primates that endured such ordeals.”
The impact of prior experiments on the chimps—average ages of 30 to 35 years—remains unclear pending analysis results. Nevertheless, Ricote expressed that survivors continue to bear the remnants of past trauma.