New Molecular Data on Filaria and its from Red Howler Monkeys () in French Guiana-A Preliminary Study.

Previous studies have reported filarial parasites of the genus and from French Guiana monkeys, based on morphological taxonomy. In this study, we screened blood samples from nine howler monkeys () for the presence of filaria and DNA. The infection rates were 88.9% for filaria and 55.6% for wolbachiae. The molecular characterization, based on the gene of filariids, revealed that are infected with at least three species ( sp., sp. and an unidentified Onchocercidae species.). Since the and generic primers are not very effective at resolving co-infections, we developed ITS genus-specific PCRs for and genus. The results revealed coinfections in 75% of positives. The presence of sp. and sp. was also confirmed by the phylogenetic analysis of their associated . sp., which close to the species from the subgenus encountered in New World Monkeys, while sp. was identical to the strain circulating in French Guiana dogs. We propose a novel genus-specific qPCR. We applied it to screen for infection in howler monkeys and 66.7% were found to be positive. Our finding highlights the need for further studies to clarify the species diversity of neotropics monkeys by combining molecular and morphological features. The novel genus-specific qPCR assays could be an effective tool for the surveillance and characterization of this potential zoonosis.