Seasonal Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Parasites in Macaques (Macaca thibetana) at Mount Emei Scenic Area in China

Abstract

The aim of the study was to elucidate the prevalence of intestinal parasites in macaques at the Mt. Emei Scenic Area of Sichuan, China. A total of 168 fecal samples were collected from yellow (n = 31), black (n = 19), new (n = 57), Leidongping (n = 57) and Wuxiangang (n = 4) macaques from 2019 to 2020. The fecal samples were tested for various gastrointestinal parasites following the microscopic detection method. The results showed that the total prevalence rate of the intestinal parasite was 51.19% (86/168), whereas the intestinal parasite with the highest prevalence was Gongylonema spp. (26.79%) for helminth and Entamoeba spp. (18.45%) for protozoa. Interestingly, the highest prevalence of intestinal parasites was observed during the summer season (86.21%), and the lowest was observed during the winter season (7.14%). There was a positive correlation observed between the human contact frequency and total prevalence rate of the intestinal parasites (p < 0.05); however, there was no correlation between the human contact frequency and total prevalence of the intestinal parasites at different seasons (p > 0.05). In conclusion, the dominant parasites Gongylonema spp. and Entamoeba spp. cause various diseases that may be transmitted to humans and other animals; therefore, there is a need for a proper management system, such as parasite control measures and population protection in the Mt. Emei Scenic Area of Sichuan, China.

Molecular identification and seasonal prevalence of Entamoeba in wild Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana) from Mount Gongga, China

“…The previous study on Tibetan macaques of Mount Emei shows that there were signi cant differences in the prevalence of Entamoeba spp. among different seasons, with the highest prevalence in summer (86.21%) compared to other seasons, especially in winter (7.14%) (Yang et al, 2022). In our study, the four Entamoeba species detected from Tibetan macaque all had the highest prevalence rates in winter, but the seasons with the lowest prevalence rates were different.…”

“…The prevalence of intestinal parasites is not only related to the health status of the host but also in uenced by climatic factors such as temperature, rainfall, and altitude (Turner et al, 2012;Sanchez et al, 2018;Yu et al, 2023). The climatic factors may further cause seasonal differences in the prevalence of parasites, which were reported in a previous study on the lemurs in Madagascar (Bethge et al, 2022), and the Tibetan macaques of Mount Emei in Sichuan, China (Yang et al, 2022). Tibetan macaques are endemic primates in China and are distributed in the central and southern regions of China (JIANG Xue-long, 1996).…”

Reference Intervals and Percentiles for Hematologic and Serum Biochemical Values in Captive Bred Rhesus (Macaca mulatta) and Cynomolgus Macaques (Macaca fascicularis)

“…Parasite burdens are known to vary seasonally in wildlife, and rainfall is one key aspect of seasonality that has been linked to parasitism in a range of systems. Rainfall can have immediate effects on parasitism rates by affecting parasite survival and movement in the environment, or it can have delayed effects by affecting host susceptibility to parasites through changes in the host body condition or immune function [63][64][65][66][67]. However, the Netherlands has a maritime climate, with no temperature extremes in summer and winter and the absence of a marked wet and dry season (www.weatherbase.com, accessed on 18 January 2023), concluding that it was unlikely that climate was an influential variable for our study.…”

First Molecular Data of Gongylonema pulchrum (Rhabditida: Gongylonematidae) in European Fallow Deer Dama dama from Romania

“…In Iran, some authors claim that Gongylonema infection affects B. domesticus with a high prevalence in summer and a low prevalence in winter [ 15 ], but there are also authors who advocate for the opposite situation [ 62 ]. Accordingly, in primates (macaques), Yang et al [ 63 ] indicate a higher prevalence in summer (86.21%), compared to the cold season (7.14%).…”