Seroprevalence of Dengue, Zika, and Chikungunya Viruses in Wild Monkeys in Thailand

Abstract

Zoonotic pathogens such as arboviruses have comprised a significant proportion of emerging infectious diseases in humans. The role of wildlife species as reservoirs for arboviruses is poorly understood, especially in endemic areas such as Southeast Asia. This study aims to determine the exposure history of different macaque species from national parks in Thailand to mosquito-borne flaviviruses and alphavirus by testing the serum samples collected from 25 northern pigtailed macaques, 33 stump-tailed macaques, and 4 long-tailed macaques for the presence of antibodies against dengue, Zika, and chikungunya viruses by plaque reduction neutralization assay. Specific neutralizing antibodies against Dengue virus (DENV1-4) and Zika virus (ZIKV) were mainly found in stump-tailed macaques, whereas neutralizing antibody titers were not detected in long-tailed macaques and pigtailed macaques as determined by 90% plaque reduction neutralization assay (PRNT 90). One long-tailed macaque captured from the south of Thailand exhibited antibody titers against chikungunya virus (CHIKV), suggesting enzootic of this virus to nonhuman primates (NHPs) in Thailand. Encroachment of human settlements into the forest has increased the interface that exposes humans to zoonotic pathogens such as arboviruses found in monkeys. Nonhuman primates living in different regions of Thailand showed different patterns of arboviral infections. The presence of neutralizing antibodies among wild monkeys in Thailand strongly suggests the existence of sylvatic cycles for DENV, ZIKV, and CHIKV in Thailand. The transmission of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya viruses among wild macaques may have important public health implications.

Arboviruses in Mammals in the Neotropics: A Systematic Review to Strengthen Epidemiological Monitoring Strategies and Conservation Medicine

“…On the other hand, in countries in other regions of the world there have already been records of this arbovirus in NHP [ 229 ], rats [ 230 ], bats [ 230 ], and horses [ 231 ]. Monitoring and detection should be continued in mammals such as primates, rodents, and bats that are susceptible to infection [ 232 ], even without the intervention of a vector [ 233 ].…”

A Serosurvey of Japanese Encephalitis Virus in Monkeys and Humans Living in Proximity in Thailand

“…However, according to the ministry of public health Thailand, there were 14 and 18 JEV-confirmed cases in 2017 and 2018, respectively [ 9 ]. The monkeys were captured as previously described [ 18 ]. Gender and anthropological measurements were taken (weight, arm length, tail length, and body length).…”

Discovering disease-causing pathogens in resource-scarce Southeast Asia using a global metagenomic pathogen monitoring system

“…These information indicate that ZIKV in Cambodia has regional sequence similarities to Thailand, possibly related to high cross-border traffic between the two countries despite little ZIKV detected in Cambodia. (27) Another possibility is a separate enzootic ZIKV transmission cycle maintained in nonhuman primates given recent evidence of ZIKV in stump-tailed macaques in Thailand (28).…”