Abstract
BackgroundAlthough a high genetic diversity of Plasmodium spp. circulating in great apes has been revealed recently due to non-invasive methods enabling detection in faecal samples, little is known about the actual mechanisms underlying the presence of Plasmodium DNA in faeces. Great apes are commonly infected by strongylid nematodes, including hookworms, which cause intestinal bleeding. The impact of strongylid infections on the detection of Plasmodium DNA in faeces was assessed in wild, western, lowland gorillas from Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic and eastern chimpanzees from Kalinzu Forest Reserve, Uganda.MethodsFifty-one faecal samples from 22 habituated gorillas and 74 samples from 15 habituated chimpanzees were analysed using Cytochrome-b PCR assay and coprological methods.ResultsOverall, 26.4% of the analysed samples were positive for both Plasmodium spp. and strongylids. However, the results showed no significant impact of intensity of infections of strongylids on detection of Plasmodium DNA in gorilla and chimpanzee faeces.ConclusionBleeding caused by strongylid nematode Necator spp. cannot explain the presence of Plasmodium DNA in ape faeces.
Highlights
A high genetic diversity of Plasmodium spp. circulating in great apes has been revealed recently due to non-invasive methods enabling detection in faecal samples, little is known about the actual mecha‐ nisms underlying the presence of Plasmodium DNA in faeces
Previous research has shown that both gorillas in Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas (DSPA) and chimpanzees in Kalinzu Forest Reserve (KFR), Uganda were infected with strongylid nematodes [9], (Hasegawa and Pafčo, unpublished data) and with malaria parasites Plasmodium spp. [3, 5]
Results of the molecular analyses of Plasmodium spp. infecting western lowland gorillas in DSPA were reported in detail in Mapua et al [5]
Summary
A high genetic diversity of Plasmodium spp. circulating in great apes has been revealed recently due to non-invasive methods enabling detection in faecal samples, little is known about the actual mecha‐ nisms underlying the presence of Plasmodium DNA in faeces. Analogous studies in non-human primates (NHPs) have been restricted by the limitation of diagnosing malaria from blood and the obvious challenges associated with invasive sampling of wild primates. Recent advances in molecular diagnostics enable malaria detection from non-invasively obtained faecal samples in primates [3, 4] and have paved the way for such noninvasive studies in the wild. Despite the pivotal role of non-invasive faecal sampling, little is yet known about the causal mechanism that lies behind the presence of ape Plasmodium DNA Studies in NHPs focused on the genetic diversity of Plasmodium spp. [3] and/or ecological aspects [5], no study has investigated co-infections with malaria and other pathogens.
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