Bertiella mucronata infection patterns as proxies of health in black and gold howler monkeys

KOWALEWSKI, M MARTIN; RAÑO, MARIANA; GENNUSO, M SOL; CEREZO, ALEXIS M; GILLESPIE, THOMAS R

Chicago

Congreso; International Primatological Society and the American Society of Primatologists; 2016

International Primatological Society and the American Society of Primatologists

Bertielliasis is a zoonosis produced by the parasite Bertiella mucronata in South America. We explored the relationship between black and gold howlers (Alouatta caraya) and B. mucronata as a proxy for individual health. We present 12 months of results from a long-term study site that included 3 howler monkey populations that differ in their degree of contact with human populations (64 groups, 2406 fecal samples), from multiples sites in Northern Argentina (8 sites, 12 groups, 225 fecal samples), and finally from the literature (14 sites). At long-term sites, we found a lower likelihood of infection in rural sites vs. remote sites and during summer vs. fall and spring (GLMM, p0.05). All sites had a high prevalence of B. mucronata (up to 95%) suggesting that howler monkeys may serve as viable reservoirs of this tapeworm. We found higher prevalence in interface populations (wildlife/livestock/humans) compared to other sites (X2=10.9, gl=2, p