Intestinal Parasites and the Occurrence of Zoonotic Giardia duodenalis Genotype in Captive Gibbons at Krabokkoo Wildlife Breeding Center, Thailand

Abstract

Intestinal parasitic infections can have an impact on health and growth of wildlife. The current study aims were to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasites and to molecular characterize Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. in captive gibbons at Krabokkoo Wildlife Breeding Center, Thailand. Fifty-five gibbons, 2 agile- ( Hylobates agilis ), 38 lar- ( Hylobates lar ) and 15 pileated gibbons ( Hylobates pileatus ) were included in this study. Fecal samples were collected individually at Krabokkoo Wildlife Breeding Center, Chachoengsao province, eastern Thailand, in November 2013. Intestinal parasitic infections were examined by zinc sulfate centrifugation flotation and by a commercially available immunofluorescent assay (IFA) for detection of G. duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp.. Polymerase chain reaction targeting the Giardia glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh), beta- giardin (bg), triose phosphate isomerase (tpi) genes, and the Cryptosporidium small subunit-rRNA and heat-shock protein (hsp70) following by DNA sequencing were performed on the IFA positive samples. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection in gibbons at Krabokkoo Wildlife Breeding Center was 12.7% (95%CI: 5.3–24.5), Strongyloides spp. eggs or larvae were present in all positive samples. Co-infections with G. duodenalis were detected in 1.8% (95%CI: 0.1–9.7) of the samples. Based on the sequencing results of the three genes, the IFA Giardia positive isolate typed as the zoonotic genotype B. Since the data reveals the occurrence of zoonotic Giardia genotype, good hygiene management is suggested to prevent the transmission of this pathogen from gibbon to human, and vice versa.

Intestinal Protists in Captive Non-human Primates and Their Handlers in Six European Zoological Gardens. Molecular Evidence of Zoonotic Transmission

“…Cryptosporidium infection rates have been typically reported in the range of 3-6% in NHP species including baboons, gibbons, macaques, and orangutans (41,(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48). Other surveys failed to detect the parasite in their captive NHP collections (13,29,(49)(50)(51)(52)(53). This variability is clearly reflected in the present study, where an overall Cryptosporidium infection rate of 1.0% was found, but the parasite was only detected in two of the six participating zoological institutions.…”

“…Our genetic analyses revealed that eight out of 10 G. duodenalis infections were caused by the assemblage B of the parasite, and that all the genetic variants detected (sub-assemblages AI, AII, and BIV) were zoonotic (70). This predominance of assemblage B over assemblage A has been confirmed in other NHP populations from Belgium and the Netherlands (71), China (72)(73)(74), Croatia (65), Italy (66), the Republic of Congo (49), Slovakia (67), Sweden (75), and Thailand (52). However, it should be noted that this trend is far from general, and the opposite result (preponderance of assemblage A over assemblage B) has also been reported in captive NHP belonging to the genera Alouatta and Ateles in Brazil (76,77) and in different NHP collections from Spanish zoological gardens (13,68).…”

Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis emissions from humans and animals in the Three Gorges Reservoir in Chongqing, China

“…Humans and many animals are important reservoirs for Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis , and large amounts of both pathogens and extremely high oocyst and cyst excretions have been traced in their feces ( Graczyk & Fried, 2007 ; Tangtrongsup et al, 2019 ). Moreover, the transmission of these parasites occurs through a variety of mechanisms in the fecal-oral route, including the direct contact with or indirect ingestion of contaminated food or water ( Castro-Hermida et al, 2009 ; Dixon, 2016 ; Saaed & Ongerth, 2019 ).…”

Peer Review #1 of "Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis emissions from humans and animals in the Three Gorges Reservoir in Chongqing, China (v0.1)"

“…Humans and many animals are important reservoirs for Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis, and large amounts of both pathogens and extremely high oocyst and cyst excretions have been traced in their feces (Graczyk & Fried, 2007;Tangtrongsup et al, 2019). Moreover, the transmission of these parasites occurs through a variety of mechanisms in the fecal-oral route, including the direct contact with or indirect ingestion of contaminated food or water (Castro-Hermida et al, 2009;Dixon & Brent, 2016;Saaed & Ongerth, 2019).…”