West Nile Virus Seroprevalence in an Outdoor Nonhuman Primate Breeding Colony in South Florida

Abstract

West Nile virus (WNV) was first detected in Florida in July 2001, with 404 human cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as of February 2020. The subtropical climate of Florida is ideal for the mosquitoes that transmit WNV. We investigated the WNV seroprevalence in 3 NHP species housed outdoors at The Mannheimer Foundation in South Florida. From January to December 2016, 520 3 to 30 y old NHP were sampled at our 2 closed sites in Homestead and LaBelle:200 rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), 212 cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis), and 108 hamadryas baboons (Papiohamadryas hamadryas). The presence of WNV IgG antibodies in these animals was determined by serum neutralizationassays, which found a total seroprevalence of 14%. Seroprevalence was significantly higher in the baboons (29%) than the rhesus (11%) and cynomolgus (9%) macaques. The probability of seropositivity significantly increased with age, but sex and site did not significantly affect seroprevalence. The frequency of WNV seropositivity detected in these outdoor-housed NHP suggests that screening for WNV and other vector-borne diseases may be necessary prior to experimental use, particularlyfor infectious disease studies in which viremia or viral antibodies could confound results, and especially for populations housed outdoors in warm, wet climates. As no seropositive subjects demonstrated clinical signs of WNV and WNV exposure did not appear to significantly impact colony health, routine testing is likely unnecessary for most NHP colonies. However,WNV infection should still be considered as a differential diagnosis for any NHP presenting with nonspecific neurologic signs. Mosquito abatement plans and vigilant sanitation practices to further decrease mosquito and avian interaction withresearch NHP should also be considered.

Diversity of mosquito species and potential arbovirus transmission in long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) breeding facilities

“…This mosquito species was reported to have a relative abundance of 13%. Based on a 2016 surveillance in Miami, Florida, WNV immunoglobulin G was found in Macaca mulatta, M. fascicularis, and Papio hamadryas [26]. Serological tests on mosquito salivary protein on M. mulatta and Erythrocebus patas found that Cx.…”

Role of Wildlife in Parasitic Zoonosis

“…The parasite's infectious stage is transmitted through the bug's feces, contaminating successive hosts' bite wounds or surrounding mucosal membranes. In addition, oral transmission in animals occurs when they consume infected insects (Barr 2009;Dorn et al 2012;Rocha et al 2013;Desquesnes 2017;Hodo et al 2018). Congenital transmission, blood transfusions, and organ transplants are additional methods of transmission.…”