The potential of macaque Macaca nemestrina leonina in Thailand to be infected by endemic arboviruses was assessed. The prevalence of antibodies of three arboviruses actively circulating in Thailand was determined by Plaque Reduction Neutralization assay procedures using samples from captive colonies in Northern Thailand. Out of 38 macaques, 9 (24%) presented reacting antibodies against dengue virus, 5 (13%) against Japanese encephalitis virus, and 4 (10%) against Chikungunya virus. Our results indicate that the northern pig-tailed macaque in Thailand can be infected by these arboviruses, inferring therefore that their virus specific vectors have bitten them. Given that, northern pig-tailed macaque represents an abundant population, living in close range to human or in peridomestic setting, they could play a role as potential reservoir host for arboviruses circulating in Thailand.

Long-tailed macaques ( Macaca fascicularis ) are known to harbour a variety of infectious pathogens, including zoonotic species. Long-tailed macaques and humans coexist in Thailand, which creates potential for interspecies pathogen transmission. This study was conducted to assess the presence of B virus, Mycobacterium spp., simian foamy virus (SFV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and Plasmodium spp. in 649 free-living Thai long-tailed macaques through polymerase-chain reaction. DNA of SFV (56.5%), HBV (0.3%), and Plasmodium spp. (2.2%) was detected in these macaques, whereas DNA of B virus and Mycobacterium spp. was absent. SFV infection in long-tailed macaques is broadly distributed in Thailand and is correlated with age. The HBV sequences in this study were similar to HBV sequences from orangutans. Plasmodium spp. DNA was identified as P. inui . Collectively, our results indicate that macaques can carry zoonotic pathogens, which have a public health impact. Surveillance and awareness of pathogen transmission between monkeys and humans are important.

spp. are protozoan parasites that infect a wide range of domestic and wild animals. The infection occurs by ingestion of an infected tick. This study was carried out to detect and characterize spp. in ticks collected from captive lions () in Thailand based on the partial 18S rRNA gene sequence. A total of 30 ticks were collected and identified as . The collected ticks were separated into 10 tick pools by sex and life stages. Of the 10 tick pools examined, only one (10%) was found to be infected with the species. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis showed a clustering of the partial 18S rRNA gene sequence like that of from the GenBank database. This is the first report of in ticks collected from captive lions in Thailand. Our results indicated that may be a possible vector of feline in Thailand.

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Background and Aim: Hemoplasmas are defined as small, epicellular parasitic bacteria that can infect the red blood cells of several mammalian species. Diseases caused by these bacteria range from asymptomatic infections to acute hemolytic anemia. However, data on hemoplasmas in non-human primates in Thailand remain to be limited. Therefore, this study aims to determine the occurrence and genetic diversity of hemoplasmas among long-tailed macaques in Thailand. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from 339 long-tailed macaques in three provinces of Thailand. DNA was then extracted from the blood samples and tested for hemoplasma using broad-range nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on the 16S rRNA gene. PCR-positive samples were sequenced, and phylogenetic analysis for species identification was conducted. Results: In total, 38 (11.2%) out of the 339 samples were found to be positive for hemoplasmas, based on the broad-range nested PCR assay of the 16S rRNA gene. The 16S rRNA sequences of Mycoplasma spp. were highly similar (98-99% identity) to "Candidatus Mycoplasma haemomacaque." Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis using maximum likelihood demonstrated that the sequences were located in the same cluster of "Ca. M. haemomacaque." Conclusion: The detection of hemoplasmas among long-tailed macaques in Thailand is reported. Genetic characterization confirmed that these hemoplasmas are closely related to "Ca. M. haemomacaque." These results indicate that long-tailed macaques in several locations in Thailand may be infected and serve as reservoirs for this parasite.

Little is known about the ecology of influenza A virus (IAV) in nonhuman primates (NHPs). We conducted active surveillance of IAV among 672 cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) living in 27 free-ranging colonies in Thailand between March and November 2019. A hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay was employed as the screening test against 16 subtypes of avian influenza virus (AIV) and two strains of the H1 subtype of human influenza virus. The serum samples with HI titers ≥20 were further confirmed by microneutralization (MN) assay. Real-time RT-PCR assay was performed to detect the conserved region of the influenza matrix (M) gene. The seropositive rate for subtypes of IAV, including AIV H1 (1.6%, 11/672), AIV H2 (15.2%, 102/672), AIV H3 (0.3%, 2/672), AIV H9 (3.4%, 23/672), and human H1 (NP-045) (0.9%, 6/672), was demonstrated. We also found antibody against more than one subtype of IAV in 15 out of 128 positive tested sera (11.7%). Moreover, influenza genome could be detected in 1 out of 245 pool swab samples (0.41%). Evidence of IAV infection presented here emphasizes the role of NHPs in the ecology of the virus. Our findings highlight the need to further conduct a continuous active surveillance program in NHP populations.

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