Plasmodium simium/Plasmodium vivax infections in southern brown howler monkeys from the Atlantic Forest

• Main Authors: Daniela Camargos Costa, Vanessa Pecini da Cunha, Gabriela Maria Pereira de Assis, Júlio César de Souza Junior, Zelinda Maria Braga Hirano, Mércia Eliane de Arruda, Flora Satiko Kano, Luzia Helena Carvalho, Cristiana Ferreira Alves de Brito
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde 2014-08-01
• Series: Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz.
• Subjects: simian malaria; Plasmodium simium; New World monkey
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02762014000500641&lng=en&tlng=en

Blood infection by the simian parasite, Plasmodium simium, was identified in captive (n = 45, 4.4%) and in wild Alouatta clamitans monkeys (n = 20, 35%) from the Atlantic Forest of southern Brazil. A single malaria infection was symptomatic and the monkey presented clinical and haematological alterations. A high frequency of Plasmodium vivax-specific antibodies was detected among these monkeys, with 87% of the monkeys testing positive against P. vivax antigens. These findings highlight the possibility of malaria as a zoonosis in the remaining Atlantic Forest and its impact on the epidemiology of the disease.