First detection of Echinococcus multilocularis infection in two species of nonhuman primates raised in a zoo: a fatal case in Cercopithecus diana and a strongly suspected case of spontaneous recovery in Macaca nigra.
The causative parasite of alveolar echinococcosis, Echinococcus multilocularis, maintains its life cycle between red foxes (Vulpes vulples, the definitive hosts) and voles (the intermediate hosts) in Hokkaido, Japan. Primates, including humans, and some other mammal species can be infected by the accidental ingestion of eggs in the feces of red foxes. In August 2011, a 6-year-old zoo-raised female Diana monkey (Cercopithecus diana) died from alveolar echinococcosis. E. multilocularis infection was confirmed by histopathological examination and detection of the E. multilocularis DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A field survey in the zoo showed that fox intrusion was common, and serodiagnosis of various nonhuman primates using western blotting detected a case of a 14-year-old female Celebes crested macaque (Macaca nigra) that was weakly positive for E. multilocularis. Computed tomography revealed only one small calcified lesion (approximately 8mm) in the macaque's liver, and both western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed a gradual decline of antibody titer. These findings strongly suggest that the animal had recovered spontaneously. Until this study, spontaneous recovery from E. multilocularis infection in a nonhuman primate had never been reported.
Department of Infectious Diseases, Hokkaido Institute of Public Health, North 19, West 12, Kitaku, Sapporo 060-0819, Hokkaido, Japan. Electronic address: yamano@iph.pref.hokkaido.jp.
Kimiaki
K
Yamano
Department of Infectious Diseases, Hokkaido Institute of Public Health, North 19, West 12, Kitaku, Sapporo 060-0819, Hokkaido, Japan.
Hirokazu
H
Kouguchi
Department of Infectious Diseases, Hokkaido Institute of Public Health, North 19, West 12, Kitaku, Sapporo 060-0819, Hokkaido, Japan.
Kohji
K
Uraguchi
Sapporo Maruyama Zoo, Miyagaoka 3-1, Chuoku, Sapporo 064-0959, Hokkaido, Japan.
Takeshi
T
Mukai
Sapporo Maruyama Zoo, Miyagaoka 3-1, Chuoku, Sapporo 064-0959, Hokkaido, Japan.
Chikako
C
Shibata
Sapporo Maruyama Zoo, Miyagaoka 3-1, Chuoku, Sapporo 064-0959, Hokkaido, Japan.
Hideaki
H
Yamamoto
Sapporo Maruyama Zoo, Miyagaoka 3-1, Chuoku, Sapporo 064-0959, Hokkaido, Japan.
Noboru
N
Takaesu
Sapporo Maruyama Zoo, Miyagaoka 3-1, Chuoku, Sapporo 064-0959, Hokkaido, Japan.
Masaki
M
Ito
Hamamatsu Zoological Gardens, Kanzanjicho 199, Nishiku, Hamamatsu 431-1209, Shizuoka, Japan.
Yoshinori
Y
Makino
Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, North 18, West 9, Kitaku, Sapporo 060-0818, Hokkaido, Japan.
Mitsuyoshi
M
Takiguchi
Department of Infectious Diseases, Hokkaido Institute of Public Health, North 19, West 12, Kitaku, Sapporo 060-0819, Hokkaido, Japan.
Kinpei
K
Yagi
D000818:Animals; D000836:Animals, Zoo; D015153:Blotting, Western / Q000662:veterinary; D002521:Cercopithecus; D004443:Echinococcosis; D004444:Echinococcosis, Hepatic / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D048210:Echinococcus multilocularis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D007564:Japan; D008251:Macaca; D008992:Monkey Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000662:veterinary
Cercopithecus diana; Echinococcus multilocularis; Macaca nigra; Spontaneous recovery; Zoo