Occurrence of Ten Protozoan Enteric Pathogens in Three Non-Human Primate Populations

• Main Authors: Estelle Menu, Bernard Davoust, Oleg Mediannikov, Jean Akiana, Baptiste Mulot, Georges Diatta, Anthony Levasseur, Stéphane Ranque, Didier Raoult, Fadi Bittar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
• Series: Pathogens
• Subjects: non-human primate; protozoa; qPCR
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/10/3/280

Non-human primate populations act as potential reservoirs for human pathogens, including viruses, bacteria and parasites, which can lead to zoonotic infections. Furthermore, intestinal microorganisms may be pathogenic organisms to both non-human primates and humans. It is, therefore, essential to study the prevalence of these infectious agents in captive and wild non-human primates. This study aimed at showing the prevalence of the most frequently encountered human enteric protozoa in non-human primate populations based on qPCR detection. The three populations studied were common chimpanzees (<i>Pan troglodytes</i>) in Senegal and gorillas (<i>Gorilla gorilla</i>) in the Republic of the Congo and in the Beauval Zoo (France). <i>Blastocystis</i> spp. were mainly found, with an occurrence close to 100%, followed by <i>Balantidium</i><i>coli</i> (23.7%), <i>Giardia</i><i>intestinalis</i> (7.9%), <i>Encephalitozoon</i><i>intestinalis</i> (1.3%) and <i>Dientamoeba</i><i>fragilis</i> (0.2%). None of the following protozoa were detected: <i>Entamoeba</i><i>histolytica</i>, <i>Enterocytozoon</i><i>bieneusi</i>, <i>Cryptosporidium</i><i>parvum</i>, <i>C</i>. <i>hominis</i>, <i>Cyclospora</i><i>cayetanensis</i> or <i>Cystoisospora</i><i>belli</i>. As chimpanzees and gorillas are genetically close to humans, it is important to monitor them frequently against different pathogens to protect these endangered species and to assess potential zoonotic transmissions to humans.