Samoel Gisele Vaz Aguirre, Fernandes Fagner D'ambroso, Santos Helton Fernandes Dos, Cargnelutti Juliana Felipetto, Vogel Fernanda Silveira Flores
Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Laboratório de Doenças Parasitárias, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Maria, Brasil.
Centro Universitário Ritter dos Reis - UniRitter, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.
Braz J Microbiol. 2025 Jul 18. doi: 10.1007/s42770-025-01738-2.
Non-human primates (NHP) can serve as intermediate or accidental hosts for sarcocystid pathogens, which vary in pathogenicity and relevance to wildlife and public health. This study aimed to detect DNA from the members of the Sarcocystidae family in tissue samples from 22 captive monkeys that died between 2019 and 2023 in a zoo located in southern Brazil. A total of 84 samples were analyzed using nested PCR, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), and specific primers to identify Sarcocystis spp., Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora sp., and Hammondia sp. According to our results, the DNA of sarcocystid pathogen was detected in 10 animals (45.45%), including T. gondii (18.18%), Sarcocystis sp. (27.27%) and H. hammondi (4.54%). One capuchin monkey developed fatal disseminated toxoplasmosis caused by an atypical T. gondii genotype, characterized by multilocus PCR-RFLP and submitted to ToxoDB. Additionally, DNA from H. hammondi was detected in a lung sample of a white-tufted marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), suggesting that this species may act as an intermediate host. These findings contribute to the understanding of sarcocystid infections in NHPs under human care and underscore the importance of surveillance in zoological institutions, especially regarding T. gondii diversity in South America.
非人灵长类动物（NHP）可作为肉孢子虫病原体的中间宿主或偶然宿主，这些病原体在致病性以及与野生动物和公共卫生的相关性方面存在差异。本研究旨在检测2019年至2023年间在巴西南部一家动物园死亡的22只圈养猴子的组织样本中肉孢子虫科成员的DNA。总共84个样本通过巢式PCR、限制性片段长度多态性（RFLP）和特异性引物进行分析，以鉴定肉孢子虫属、刚地弓形虫、新孢子虫属和哈蒙德虫属。根据我们的结果，在10只动物（45.45%）中检测到了肉孢子虫病原体的DNA，包括刚地弓形虫（18.18%）、肉孢子虫属（27.27%）和哈蒙德哈蒙德虫（4.54%）。一只卷尾猴因一种非典型刚地弓形虫基因型引发致命的播散性弓形虫病，通过多位点PCR-RFLP进行鉴定并提交至ToxoDB。此外，在一只白耳狨（Callithrix jacchus）的肺样本中检测到了哈蒙德哈蒙德虫的DNA，这表明该物种可能是中间宿主。这些发现有助于了解人工饲养下非人灵长类动物的肉孢子虫感染情况，并强调了动物园机构监测的重要性，特别是关于南美洲刚地弓形虫的多样性。
