Plasmodium infection and its association with biochemical and haematological parameters in free-living Alouatta guariba clamitans (Cabrera, 1940) (Primates: Atelidae) in Southern Brazil

Abstract

BACKGROUND The influence of Plasmodium spp. infection in the health of Southern brown howler monkey, Alouatta guariba clamitans, the main reservoir of malaria in the Atlantic Forest, is still unknown.OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to investigate the positivity rate of Plasmodium infection in free-living howler monkeys in an Atlantic Forest fragment in Joinville/SC and to associate the infection with clinical, morphometrical, haematological and biochemical alterations.METHODS Molecular diagnosis of Plasmodium infection in the captured monkeys was performed by Nested-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (18S rRNA and coxI). Haematological and biochemical parameters were compared among infected and uninfected monkeys; clinical and morphometrical parameters were also compared.FINDINGS The positivity rate of Plasmodium infection was 70% among forty captured animals, the highest reported for neotropical primates. None statistical differences were detected in the clinical parameters, and morphometric measures comparing infected and uninfected groups. The main significant alteration was the higher alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in infected compared to uninfected monkeys.MAIN CONCLUSIONS Therefore, Plasmodium infection in howler monkeys may causes haematological/biochemical alterations which might suggest hepatic impairment. Moreover, infection must be monitored for the eco-epidemiological surveillance of malaria in the Atlantic Forest and during primate conservation program that involves the animal movement, such as translocations.

Profiling Humoral Immune Response Against Pre-Erythrocytic and Erythrocytic Antigens of Malaria Parasites Among Neotropical Primates in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

“…The capture has prioritized adults, resulting in 85% of the monkeys (Table 1). Plasmodium infection was previously identified in 67% of studied animals that were infected with P. simium and/or P. brasilianum by PCR (Nunes et al, 2020).…”

“…Capture and biological samples collection were performed according to the Brazilian guidelines and regulations and were (Costa et al, 2014;de Alvarenga et al, 2015;Alvarenga et al, 2017;de Alvarenga et al, 2018;Nunes et al, 2020) according to Snounou et al (1993).…”

Detection ofPlasmodium vivaxin a liver sample of a howler-monkey: one evidence more in favour of the identity betweenPlasmodium simiumandP. vivax

“…Recently, one sample of Plasmodium spp. DNA obtained from simian blood collected in southern Brazil was analysed by the same protocol and revealed the genetic pattern of P. vivax presented in the simian sample here reported (14). Unexpectedly, the authors designated the parasite as a non-Plasmodium simium (NPs, animal 4).…”

“…Lately, in studies performed in the Atlantic Forest region some authors classified all simian samples as P. simium under the de Alvarenga et al (2018) protocol indications (11,(13)(14)(15)(16). Nevertheless, in ES, the parasite found in the simian host was classified as P. vivax by the same protocol, raising new issues about the classification of parasites in Atlantic Forest.…”

“…This protocol is directed at identifying P. simium in non-human primates and humans from the Atlantic Forest region, aiming to monitor zoonotic malaria transmission in Brazil. This was further used for epidemiological surveys in human and simian samples obtained in other Brazilian studies conducted in RJ (14,15,16). In a bid to test this simple and cost-effective tool in a different geographic area, our group used unprecedent ES samples, whose results we report herein.…”