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Aotus nancymai (karyotype I) monkeys from Peru were studied for their susceptibility to infection with Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, and P. malariae. Three strains of P. falciparum (Santa Lucia from El Salvador, Indochina I/CDC from Thailand, and Uganda Palo Alto) were inoculated into 38 monkeys. The results indicated that this species of Aotus monkey is highly susceptible to infection. The Uganda Palo Alto and the Santa Lucia strain parasites appear to be the most useful for immunologic and chemotherapeutic studies. Five strains of P. vivax (Chesson, ONG, Vietnam Palo Alto, Salvador I, and Honduran I/CDC) were inoculated into 28 monkeys. The Vietnam Palo Alto strain produced the highest level parasitemias ranging from 23,800 to 157,000/mm3. Mosquito infections were obtained with the ONG, Chesson, and Salvador I strains. Two out of 6 attempts to transmit P. vivax via sporozoite inoculation to splenectomized monkeys were successful with prepatent periods of 39 and 57 days. Five monkeys were infected with the Uganda I/CDC strain of P. malariae. Maximum parasitemias ranged from 10 to 5,390/mm3.

Abstract. Aotus monkeys are good models for erythrocyte-induced Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax infections and have been extensively used in malarial drug and vaccine development. Recently, it has been shown that certain species of Aotus can be infected with sporozoites, and that the degree of susceptibility varies among species. We demonstrate here that Panamanian Aotus lemurinus lemurinus are susceptible to a sporozoite-induced infection, opening the possibility that this species of Aotus could be used as models for testing the efficacy of pre-erythrocytic P. falciparum vaccines and drug candidates directed at the pre-erythrocytic stages of P. falciparum and P. vivax malaria. In this species, we compared sporozoite infection rates. Two of four animals splenectomized prior to infection with sporozoites developed patent parasitemias. Seven of eight animals splenectomized either 7 or 35 days after infection became parasitemic. Additionally, we used a P. falciparum-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method to detect the early appearance of parasitized erythrocytes in the blood prior to detection by conventional microscopy, and found that the parasitemia was detected first in five animals by the PCR method, first in three animals by blood film, with one parasitemia detected simultaneously. We also demonstrated the feasibility of infecting monkeys located in Panama with sporozoites isolated at an insectary in Atlanta, thus documenting the feasibility of similar studies where the insectary and monkey colony are not in the same location. A subsequent attempt to infect these monkeys using sporozoites was not successful, suggesting that this model of human malaria is not yet ready for routine use in vaccine or drug efficacy screening. This model merits further study because of the importance of testing pre-erythrocytic P. falciparum malaria vaccines and drugs in animals.Aotus species have long been used as an animal model for infection with erythrocytic stage Plasmodium falciparum. 1 Studies in Aotus have significantly contributed to the development of anti-malarial drugs suitable for human use, and, relatively recently, served as a model for the development and non-human testing of P. falciparum anti-malarial vaccines.2-13 Although Aotus can easily be infected with a variety of adapted erythrocytic strains of P. falciparum, 14 only the Santa Lucia strain of P. falciparum has consistently induced a sporozoite stage infection in a limited number of species of Aotus.15 Unfortunately the species of Aotus (A. lemurinus griseimembra) that has been reported to be highly susceptible to a Santa Lucia sporozoite infection is native to northern Colombia and the export of this species has been banned since 1973. Therefore, although an animal model exists for testing the efficacy of anti-malarial vaccines and drugs targeted at the sporozoite stage of P. falciparum, the paucity of a highly susceptible species of Aotus to a P. falciparum sporozoite infection outside of Colombia limits the usefulness of this model. The Aotus ...

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