Zoonotic parasite infections of the Arabian sacred baboon Papio hamadryas arabicus Thomas in Asir Province, Saudi Arabia

Severe whipworm (Trichuris spp.) infection in the hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas)

A 3-year-old male hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas) at the Seoul Zoo, Korea, died without any previous symptoms. Necropsy revealed severe whipworm infection in the large intestine. The animal weighed 2.6 kg and had a blood clot at the anus. Numerous whipworms were found attached to the intestinal wall, with their anterior ends embedded in the mucosa. Fecal microscopy revealed typical barrel-shaped, brown eggs of Trichuris spp., with hyaline polar plugs at each end. Histopathological examination revealed the thin anterior part of Trichuris spp. embedded in the mucosal layer and the thick posterior part at the mucosal surface or hanging freely in the intestinal lumen. This case emphasizes the importance of parasitic infection management in zoo animals.

Selected Zoonoses

Human risks of acquiring a zoonotic disease from animals used in biomedical research have declined over the last decade because higher quality research animals have defined microbiologic profiles. Even with diminished risks, the potential for exposure to infectious agents still exists, especially from larger species such as nonhuman primates, which may be obtained from the wild, and from livestock, dogs, ferrets, and cats, which are generally not raised in barrier facilities and are not subject to the intensive health monitoring performed routinely on laboratory rodents and rabbits. Additionally, when laboratory animals are used as models for infectious disease studies, exposure to microbial pathogens presents a threat to human health. Also, with the recognition of emerging diseases, some of which are zoonotic, constant vigilance and surveillance of laboratory animals for zoonotic diseases are still required.

Association between Papio hamadryas populations and human gastrointestinal infectious diseases in southwestern Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Papio hamadryas baboons, known reservoirs of several infectious diseases, roam and deposit their excreta indiscriminately on footpaths, parks, and streets of the city peripheries of Taif, Baha, and Abha in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Nonetheless, city centers of these places are free of baboons. This study aims to determine the impact of baboons on human gastrointestinal health.

DESIGN AND SETTINGS

This is a descriptive cross-sectional analytical ecological study conducted in 3 cities located in southwestern Saudi Arabia between July 2011 and July 2012.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We investigated the impact of these baboons on the human health through a coprological survey of infectious agents of baboons and humans in these 3 cities using macroscopic and micro.scopic analyses, before and after parasite concentration, and culturing of bacteria on selective and differential media, which were then identified by 16S rDNA gene sequencing. Baboon fecal samples (n=823) were collected from city peripheries. Two groups of human fecal samples, each consisting of 795 samples were collected, one from city centers and the second from city peripheries where baboons intermingle with the human population.

RESULTS

Baboon fecal samples were the most contaminated with infectious agents, except for Staphylococcus aureus, which was more commonly present in human fecal samples collected from city peripheries. Human fecal samples collected form city peripheries showed higher rates of most infective agents than those collected from city centers.

CONCLUSION

This indicates that baboons are medically important reservoirs of infectious agents associated with higher human coproprevalence of gastrointestinal infectious agents.

Prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in primate bushmeat and pets in Cameroon

To document the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in Cameroonian monkeys and to assess the risk of transmission to humans, we sampled 125 primates belonging to 15 species, of which 78 had been captured for bushmeat in the wild, and 47 were pets kept in urban areas. Seven nematode species, one trematode, one cestode and three protozoa were detected. Eight different parasite species were found in Cercopithecus nictitans and six in C. neglectus, C. pogonias and Cercocebus agilis. Helminths were found in 77% of monkeys, and protozoa in 36%. Trichuris sp. and Entamoeba coli were the most frequent parasites, being found in 54% and 36% of animals, respectively. Helminths were more frequent in adults than in juveniles, while the prevalence of protozoa was not age-related. No significant gender difference was found. Bushmeat monkeys had a significantly higher prevalence of helminth infection than pets (92% versus 51%), whereas there was no significant difference in the prevalence of protozoa (32% versus 43%). Among helminth species, Strongyloides fulleborni was more prevalent in bushmeat monkeys than in pets (55% versus 15%), as were Ancylostoma spp. (62% versus 9%). As these parasites are transmitted transcutaneously by infectious larva, they have a high potential for transmission to humans, during butchering. One pet monkey kept in an urban household in Yaoundé was infected by Schistosoma mansoni. The potential public health implications of these findings are discussed.

Molecular evidence for the infection of zoo chimpanzees by pig Ascaris

We here describe the transmission of the pig roundworm, Ascaris suum to chimpanzees maintained in the Copenhagen Zoo, Denmark. Using a technique for whole genome fingerprinting, amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and the technique PCR restricted fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA, the worms from the chimpanzees were compared with Ascaris spp obtained from humans and pigs in order to identify the source of the infection. By the use of different distance and clustering based methods on the AFLP data set the worms from the chimpanzees were assigned to the same cluster as that of the worms from pigs. The PCR-RFLP analysis supported the AFLP results. Therefore, the zoo chimpanzees have required Ascaris infections by cross-infection from pigs. Pigs as a potential source of Ascaris infections for both captive and wild chimpanzees and other animals, therefore needs to be considered and appropriate steps taken to prevent such infection.

Microparasite assemblages of conspecific shrew populations in southern California

The microparasite component communities of 2 species of shrews, Notiosorex crawfordi and Sorex ornatus, were investigated for the first time in 2 isolated and 3 continuous landscapes in southern California. With microscopical examination, a total of 6 parasite species was found in N. crawfordi and 8 species in S. ornatus. The highest number (5) of parasite species was detected in the lungs. The corrected estimate of parasite species richness did not significantly correlate with the host abundance in either shrew species. Altitude, and also latitude in N. crawfordi, appeared to be significantly positively associated with the parasite species richness, but this could be due to a false association because of the rare occurrence of some of the parasites or the small altitude range (or both). No other landscape variable analyzed (location, size of the study site, disturbance) was significantly associated with the parasite species richness of the shrews. The parasite assemblages of the 2 shrew species were similar despite the fact that N. crawfordi has a lower metabolic rate than S. ornatus.

A preliminary investigation on the gastrointestinal helminths of the Barbados green monkey, Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus

Faecal samples were collected from fifty three freshly captured monkeys which were kept at the Barbados Primate Research Centre and Wildlife Reserve (BPRCWR). Examination of these samples for gastrointestinal helminths using the zinc sulphate floatation method revealed an overall infection rate of 88.7%. The parasites observed included Strongyloides (62.4%), Physaloptera (58.5%), Trichuris (52.8%), Hookworm (34.0%), Oesophagostomum (30.2%), Trichostrongylus (3.8%) and Ascaris (5.7%). No significant differences in overall prevalence were observed according to sex or age. Polyparasitism appeared to be common as it was observed in 92.5% of all monkeys examined. It is concluded that these monkeys could act as reservoirs of some of the parasites which can infect man.

Intestinal parasitism--protozoa and helminths--in primates at the Barcelona Zoo

The faunistic results regarding intestinal parasitism by protozoa and helminths in 21 primate species (three Cebidae, thirteen Cercopithecidae, one Hylobatidae, one Lemuridae, three Pongidae) are reported. The primate species were housed in four separate galleries. Six faecal samples of each host species were subjected to coprological analysis. Fifteen parasite species were detected: 11 protozoa (Entamoeba coli, E. chattoni, E. hartmanni, Iodamoeba bütschlii, Endolimax nana, Giardia intestinalis, Chilomastix mesnilii, Enteromonas hominis, Trichomonas intestinalis, Balantidium coli, and Blastocystis hominis) and 4 helminths (Ancylostoma sp., Strongyloides fuelleborni, Strongyloides sp., and Trichuris trichiura). The results reveal certain parasitic similarities between host species housed in the same gallery; however, these primate species do not always carry identical parasite species.