title: Alopecia in Outdoor Group- and Corral-Housed Baboons (Papio hamadryas spp.).
abstract: Alopecia has been reported to occur in several species of captive NHP. Much of this research has focused on macaque monkeys; whether other primate species such as baboons are affected similarly is unknown. Because alopecia can be a focus of inspectors and a possible marker of wellbeing, the purpose of the current study was to survey the occurrence of alopecia in 2 baboon populations and to identify potential risk factors. Subjects were 262 group-housed and 279 corral-housed baboons. Alopecia was assessed cage-side (group-housed) and on sedated animals (corral-housed). Although alopecia was mild in both populations, there were significant effects of season and sex. Alopecia was greater in the winter (group-housed) and the fall (corral-housed) and in female baboons. In addition, the group-housed baboons showed a significant negative effect of age and a lesser effect of group size on alopecia. These results demonstrate that variables other than those associated with animal management practices can affect hair loss in baboons.
authors.affiliation: Southwest National Primate Research Center, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA. clutz@txbiomed.org.
authors.forename: Corrine K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Lutz
authors.affiliation: Southwest National Primate Research Center, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: R Mark
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Sharp
mesh_terms: D000505:Alopecia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006799:Housing, Animal; D008297:Male; D008992:Monkey Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D048529:Papio hamadryas; D012621:Seasons; D012737:Sex Factors