Kilo, Thome (2009) A Case Study for Survey of Gastro-Intestinal Parasites of Sykes Monkeys (Cercopithecus Mitis Albogularis) at Gede Ruins National Monument Forest, Coast Province, Kenya. Masters thesis, Kenyatta University.
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Abstract
Non-human primates are vulnerable to parasitic infections in the wild and especially to human diseases or animal origin (zoonoses), which form a sizeable proportion of the emerging and re-emerging diseases. These diseases are continuing to gain importance, especially in rural areas in developing countries, where majority of the people live with a variety of animals under poor hygiene conditions or in areas where animals share the environment with humans. The objective of this study was to investigate the gastro-intestinal (git) parasites commonly occurring in free-ranging Sykes monkeys (Cercopithe~us mitis albogularis) at the Gede Ruins National Monument Forest and their public health implications. One of the three troops at the Gede Ruins National Monument Forest was provisioned with food by tourists and locals. The study identified 11 adult females from this I troop for sampling using-their natural markings on their body. Multiple fresh faecal samples were collected from these animals in the months of September and November 2005. The assessment of git parasites was determined by Direct Smear, Formalin-ethyl Acetate Sedimentation, MacMaster and Harada Mori techniques. In this study, the parasitic fauna of 11 adult females were quantified from 191 faecal samples collected over a 2-month period with a minimum of four samples from each individual. Nine gastrointestinal parasites (six helminthes and three protozoans) were recovered from the samples. The protozoa were: Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba histolytica and Iodamoeba butschlii while the nematodes were: Strongyloides fuleborni, Trichostrongylus spp., Oesophagostomum spp., Trichuris spp., Streptopharagus spp.and Metastrongylus spp. The intensity of protozoans among the monkeys were higher in November than in September but not significant (STAT, t-test p 2: 0.05) probably due to the animals spending more time grooming in November, hence direct contact transmission. Higher intensities of nematodes were obtained in September than in November and showed significant difference between the months. In November, there was green vegetation unlike in September, and this resulted to natural deworming. MacMaster method had higher egg numbers and a definite trend in all parasites than formalinethylacetate method and proved to be a better technique for parasite quantification. The prevalence of protozoa was higher in November than in September most probably due to direct contact transmission as a result of grooming. There was lower prevalence of Oesophagostomum spp., Trichostrongylus spp., and Trichuris spp. in September due to the unfavorable environmental conditions for their lifecycles. The prevalence of Strongyloides fulleborni and Streptopharagus spp. were higher in September as compared to November though not significantly different. This was probably due to their complex life cycles. Strongyloides fulleborni life cycle has an extra step in warm and humid weather conditions as found in the month of November. It therefore took longer for the eggs to be detected in the faeces. Streptopharagus spp. has an indirect life cycle and requires an intermediate host (dung beetle) and most probably there were no dung beetles in November with mature infection. The study isolated and identified Metastrongylus spp. in these animals and this might be the first reported case of this parasite in non-human primates. The results suggest that to accurately diagnose the total intestinal infections and evaluate group prevalence both flotation and sedimentation methods should be used to ensure the recovery of all parasites. All the parasites isolated and identified in the study could be potential zoonoses.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | Q Science > QL Zoology |
| Divisions: | Africana |
| Depositing User: | Geoffrey Obatsa |
| Date Deposited: | 02 May 2017 09:14 |
| Last Modified: | 02 May 2017 09:14 |
| URI: | http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/1469 |
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