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. 2017 Jun 19;6(3):209-218.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2017.06.004. eCollection 2017 Dec.

Gastrointestinal parasites in captive and free-ranging Cebus albifrons in the Western Amazon, Ecuador

Sarah Martin-Solano  1   2   3 , Gabriel A Carrillo-Bilbao  2   4   5 , William Ramirez  6 , Maritza Celi-Erazo  2 , Marie-Claude Huynen  1 , Bruno Levecke  7 , Washington Benitez-Ortiz  2 , Bertrand Losson  8
Affiliations

Gastrointestinal parasites in captive and free-ranging Cebus albifrons in the Western Amazon, Ecuador

Sarah Martin-Solano et al. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl. .

Abstract

Currently, there is a lack of surveys that report the occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites in the white-headed capuchin monkey (Cebus albifrons). We therefore assessed the presence and richness (= number of different parasite genera) of parasites in C. albifrons in wildlife refuges (n = 11) and in a free-ranging group near a human village (n = 15) in the Ecuadorian Amazon. In the 78 samples collected (median of 3 samples per animal), we identified a total of 6 genera of gastrointestinal parasites, representing protozoa, nematodes, acanthocephalans and cestodes. We observed a high prevalence (84%) across the 26 individuals, with the most prevalent parasite being Strongyloides sp. (76.9%), followed by Hymenolepis sp. (38.5%) and Prosthenorchis elegans (11.5%). We found Entamoeba histolytica/dispar/moskovskii/nuttalli and Capillaria sp. in only a minority of the animals (3.8%). In addition, we observed unidentified strongyles in approximately one-third of the animals (34.6%). We found a total of 6 parasite genera for the adult age group, which showed higher parasite richness than the subadult age group (5) and the juvenile age group (3). Faecal egg/cyst counts were not significantly different between captive and free-ranging individuals or between sexes or age groups. The free-ranging group had a higher prevalence than the captive group; however, this difference was not significant. The only genus common to captive and free-ranging individuals was Strongyloides sp. The high prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites and the presence of Strongyloides in both populations support results from previous studies in Cebus species. This high prevalence could be related to the high degree of humidity in the region. For the free-ranging group, additional studies are required to gain insights into the differences in parasite prevalence and intensity between age and sex groups. Additionally, our study demonstrated that a serial sampling of each individual increases the test sensitivity.

Keywords: Amazonian Ecuador; Cebus albifrons; Faecal egg/cyst counts; Parasite richness; Prevalence.

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Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
From left to right in each row: Hymenolepis sp., Capillaria sp., Strongyloides sp., Prosthenorchis elegans, Strongyle (unidentified), Entamoeba histolytica/dispar/moskovskii/nuttalli. (40x).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Cumulative richness from the first sample to the third sample for the 26 animals sampled.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Cumulative prevalence of parasites from each sample.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Cumulative egg and cyst count of parasites from each sample.
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