Severe coenurosis caused by larvae of Taenia serialis in an olive baboon (Papio anubis) in Benin

Abstract

In March 2017, a captive male juvenile (ca. 6 months old) olive baboon ( Papio anubis ) was brought to a primate rescue center in Benin with multiple subcutaneous swellings of unknown aetiology. At the general inspection of the body, around 15 partially mobile masses of variable sizes were found in different locations across the body. Following two surgical procedures, several cyst-like structures were removed and placed either in 10% formalin or in absolute ethanol. The cysts had a typical coenurus-like morphology. Genomic DNA was extracted from one cyst using a commercially available kit. The molecular characterization was performed by PCR amplification and sequencing of a region of the nuclear ITS-2 rDNA and a fragment of the mitochondrial 12S rDNA gene, revealing its identity as T. serialis , with 88%–98% similarity to T. serialis isolates from USA, Japan and Germany This study reports a new host for the larval form of T. serialis and confirms the role of primates as intermediate host, highlighting also the risk for human infection. Further genetic studies from multiple geographic isolates are needed to clarify the taxonomic status of this group.

Wild geladas (Theropithecus gelada) in crops—more than in pasture areas—reduce aggression and affiliation

“…Such transmission can include gastrointestinal parasites, such as protozoans in Gorilla gorilla gorilla (Giardia intestinalis; Sak et al 2013), several nematode species in Papio spp. (Hahn et al 2003), and, if wild or domestic canids are present, the cestode Taenia serialis in Theropithecus gelada and other primates (Schneider-Crease et al 2017; Chanove et al 2019).…”