Understanding variations in host-parasite relationships with urbanization is vital for both, public health management and conservation of endemic animals with high anthropogenic interactions. Toque macaques ( Macaca sinica ) are such endemic old-world monkeys in Sri Lanka. Three macaque sub species inhabit the main climatic zones of the island; M . s. sinica , M . s. aurifrons and M . s. opisthomelas inhabit the dry zone, wet zone, and montane regions of the island, respectively. This study aimed to examine parasite prevalence in this host in association with urbanization. A total of 180 fecal samples were collected from the three sub species of toque macaques inhabiting the main climatic zones (dry, wet, and montane) in Sri Lanka; 20 samples each were collected from urban, suburban, and wild populations representing each climatic zone. Twenty gastrointestinal (GI) parasite genera types i.e . five types of protozoan cysts, two types of trematode ova, four types of cestode ova, eight types of nematode ova, and a single type of acanthocephalan ova were identified. The overall prevalence of parasites was 62% (112/180) with the highest prevalence of Strongyloides infection. In all three sub species, toque macaque populations with proximity to human settlements, including urban and suburban populations, manifested a greater GI parasitic prevalence, mean ova/cyst counts and species richness, compared to their wild counterparts. Importantly, records of five parasite types in toques in Sri Lanka are reported for the first time, while Moniliformis type was reported as a first record in free ranging macaques, globally. This study clearly demonstrated that human contact and habitat modification may influence patterns of parasitic infections in macaques. As most of the parasite types identified manifest zoonotic potential, with public health implications, close associations of macaques may cause a threat to human well-being.

An 11-month-old infant presented with a subcutaneous nodule in the right cheek which was found by ultrasonography to be a worm. Following treatment with di-ethylcarbamazine, a worm emerged from the left upper eyelid which was confirmed to be Dirofilaria repens. Dirofilariasis usually manifests as a single lesion and is rare in infants.

Allele frequencies and forensically important parameters of ten autosomal miniSTR loci, D1S1677, D2S1776, D10S1248, D11S4463, D12SATA, D14S1434, D17S974, D18S853, D20S482, and D22S1045, were obtained for 278 unrelated adults from the Sri Lankan population. The combined power of discrimination and probability of exclusion was found to be 0.999999999621539 and 0.9979620, respectively. No significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were observed except for D20S482 which conformed to HW expectations only after the application of a Bonferroni correction. The study suggests the potential use of these miniSTRs as a supplement or as a stand-alone STR marker system for the analysis of highly degraded evidence in Sri Lanka.