Detection of Plasmodium in faeces of the New World primate Alouatta clamitans

Abstract

Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax have evolved with host switches between non-human primates (NHPs) and humans. Studies on the infection dynamics of Plasmodium species in NHPs will improve our understanding of the evolution of these parasites; however, such studies are hampered by the difficulty of handling animals in the field. The aim of this study was to detect genomic DNA of Plasmodium species from the faeces of New World monkeys. Faecal samples from 23 Alouatta clamitans from the Centre for Biological Research of Indaial (Santa Catarina, Brazil) were collected. Extracted DNA from faecal samples was used for molecular diagnosis of malaria by nested polymerase chain reaction. One natural infection with Plasmodium simium was identified by amplification of DNA extracted from the faeces of A. clamitans. Extracted DNA from a captive NHP was also used for parasite genotyping. The detection limit of the technique was evaluated in vitro using an artificial mixture of cultured P. falciparum in NHP faeces and determined to be 6.5 parasites/µL. Faecal samples of New World primates can be used to detect malaria infections in field surveys and also to monitor the genetic variability of parasites and dynamics of infection.

Atlantic Forest Malaria: A Review of More than 20 Years of Epidemiological Investigation

“…and assuring that this diagnostic method is as effective as the one based on blood collection [ 48 , 49 , 51 , 53 ]. In Southern Brazil (state of Santa Catarina), in an area of Atlantic Forest, a study was carried out to diagnose simian malaria using fecal samples, and the results corroborated those of the previous studies in Africa and Asia [ 54 ].…”

Naturally Acquired Humoral Immunity against Malaria Parasites in Non-Human Primates from the Brazilian Amazon, Cerrado and Atlantic Forest

“…Recently, many studies have been performed to evaluate the presence of malaria parasites in NHPs, both in the Atlantic Forest and Amazon regions, aiming to understand their roles as reservoirs of malaria [ 4 , 7 , 8 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. Some serological studies have also been carried out with the same aim but without using any P. malariae erythrocytic stage antigens [ 9 , 10 , 25 ].…”

Prevalence of Plasmodium parasites in non-human primates and mosquitoes in areas with different degrees of fragmentation in Colombia

“…However, they degrade quickly [58] and the presence of bacteria and polysaccharides from plant diet, which are potential inhibitors of PCR, makes it difficult to use these samples for diagnosis by PCR [59]. To solve this inconveniences, there was used RNA later for sample preservation and BSA in the PCR mix in order to stabilize the DNA [60]. Since Plasmodium detection from blood is more sensitive than from fecal samples [57, 61], prevalence rates found in this study may be underestimated, given that blood samples could not be obtained for all sampled primates.…”