Prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp., Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Encephalitozoon spp. and Giardia intestinalis in wild, semi-wild and captive orangutans (Pongo abelii and Pongo pygmaeus) on Sumatra and Borneo, Indonesia.
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2016 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | PLOS ONE |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152771 |
| Field | Zoology |
| Keywords | orangutan;Cryptosporidium spp.; Encephalitozoon spp.; Enterocytozoon bieneusi |
| Description | Background: The orangutans are critically endangered mainly as the result of loss and fragmentation of their natural habitat which could lead to their closer contact with human population, and consequently to higher risk of pathogen transmission. Aims: To describe the prevalence and diversity of Cryptosporidium spp., microsporidia and Giardia intestinalis in orangutans at seven different sites on Sumatra and Kalimantan and to evaluate the impact of orangutan’s habituation and location on the occurrence of these zoonotic protists. Result: The most prevalent microsporidia was Encephalitozoon cuniculi genotype II found in 21 animals (7.0%), whereas Enterocytozoon bieneusi genotype D (n=5) and novel genotype Pongo 2 were detected only in six individuals (2.0%). To the best of our knowledge, these parasites were documented in orangutans for the first time. Cryptosporidium spp. was described in eight animals (2.7%), including C. parvum (two cases) and C. muris (six cases). Giardia intestinalis assemblage B, subtype MB6 was identified in a single individual. The overall prevalence rate in 298 examined animals reached 12.1%. Conclusion: Our results revealed that wild individuals are significantly less frequently infected by Cryptosporidium spp. compared to captive and semi-wild animals. In addition, this parasite was more frequently detected at localities on Kalimantan. On the other hand, in case of microsporidia we did not detect any significant differences between studied groups of animals. However, the source of infection and its circulation was not detected as it requires repeated individual sampling, examination of water sources, and sampling of human and animals sharing the habitat with orangutans. |
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