Background
Parasites from the genus
Plasmodium,
the aetiological agent of malaria in humans, can also infect non-human primates (NHP), increasing the potential risk of zoonotic transmission with its associated global public health concerns. In Colombia, there are no recent studies on
Plasmodium
spp. infecting free-ranging NHP. Thus, this study aimed to determine the diversity of
Plasmodium
species circulating in fragmented forests in central Colombia, both in
Anopheles
mosquitoes and in the four sympatric NHP in the region (
Ateles hybridus, Cebus versicolor, Alouatta seniculus
and
Aotus griseimembra
), in order to evaluate the risk of infection to humans associated with the presence of sylvatic hosts and vectors infected with
Plasmodium
spp.
Methods
Overall, there were collected 166 fecal samples and 25 blood samples from NHP, and 442 individuals of
Anopheles
spp. DNA extraction, nested PCR using mitochondrial (cox3 gene) and ribosomal (18S rDNA) primers, electrophoresis and sequencing were conducted in order to identify
Plasmodium
spp. from the samples.
Results
Plasmodium falciparum
was detected in two fecal samples of
Alouatta seniculus
, while
Plasmodium vivax/simium
infected
Ateles hybridus, Cebus versicolor
and
Alouatta seniculus
. Co-infections with
P. vivax/simium
and
Plasmodium malariae/brasilianum
were found in three individuals. The highest prevalence from blood samples was found for
Plasmodium malariae/brasilianum
in two
Alouatta seniculus
while
Plasmodium vivax/simium
was most prevalent in fecal samples, infecting four individuals of
Alouatta seniculus
. Seven
Anopheles
species were identified in the study site:
Anopheles (Anopheles) punctimacula, Anopheles (An.) malefactor, Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) oswaldoi, Anopheles (Nys.) triannulatus, Anopheles (An.) neomaculipalpus
,
Anopheles (Nys.) braziliensis
and
Anopheles (Nys.) nuneztovari
. Infection with
P. vivax/simium
was found in
An. nuneztovari
,
An. neomaculipalpus
, and
An. triannulatus
. Furthermore,
An. oswaldoi
and
An. triannulatus
were found infected with
P. malariae/brasilianum
. The effect of fragmentation and distance to the nearest town measured in five ...