Clinical evaluation and research of Plasmodium spp. in neotropical primates from the Central Amazon

Wild fauna can represent a valuable source of information in places never before studied and these animals are considered indicators of environmental quality, as they demonstrate, through the agents they harbor, the imbalances of the environment to which they are exposed. On the other hand, the health and good nutritional status of these animals suggest good carrying capacity and environmental quality for the survival of the species (THOMPSON; KUTZ; SMITH, 2009). Wild populations have been considered as potential reservoirs of pathogenic agents that can emerge as emerging and re-emerging agents (DASZAK; CUNNINGHAM; HYATT, 2001). During the last few years, it has been demonstrated that infectious and parasitic diseases can pose a serious threat to wildlife, possibly causing a decline in its abundance (CLEAVELAND et al., 2002). Several pathogens have been blamed for leading populations of wild animals to extinction (CLEAVELAND; DYE, 1995) and, for this reason, the health of these species is considered a key point for their conservation (DEEM et al., 2001; CLEAVELAND et al., 2002). Knowledge and control of zoonoses are important for the present and for future generations, since about 75% of emerging human diseases in the last 10 years were caused by pathogenic agents from animals (WHO, 2014), as a result of socioeconomic growth that brings man closer to the wild environment and vice versa, implying in ecoepidemiological changes that pose a risk to Public Health (DHIMAN et al., 2014). Neotropical primates play an important role in maintaining the natural ecosystem, such as seed dispersal (CHAPMAN; ONDERDONK, 1998) and in turn maintain a relationship with several pathogens, which may or may not be a beneficial relationship. Growing human actions affect the environment, destroying habitats and can cause serious environmental changes such as fragmentation of the forest environment, loss of biodiversity and climate change. These changes in the ecosystem can lead to changes in the epidemiological cycle of diseases, causing damage to public and animal health (HUNTER; REY; SCOTT; 1983; LERER; SCUDDER, 1999). This possibility of adaptation of pathogens from non-human primate hosts to human hosts is due to the close phylogenetic relationship, as observed in some diseases, and with Plasmodium species it is no different (VERHULST; SMALLEGANGE; TAKKEN, 2012). This fact reinforces the return of research on malaria in neotropical primates in Brazil, which began in the 1970s. This research produced a vast literature on the identification of plasmodia in neotropical primates (DEANE et al., 1971; DEANE, 1976). A seroepidemiological study revealed that humans and neotropical primates, coexisting in forested areas, had antibodies against the same species of plasmodia. This study corroborates the hypothesis that in forest areas in Brazil (Amazon Forest and Atlantic Forest) zoonotic malaria may occur (ARRUDA et al., 1989; ALVARENGA et al., 2015). Due to the lack of studies on the occurrence of Plasmodium in non-human primates in Central Amazonia, as well as the health condition of free-living populations, conservation units and extractive reserves were selected to carry out collections of biological samples for research on plasmodia in free-living neotropical primates. In this way, it is expected that the results of this work can contribute to sanitary approaches in relation to the primate populations studied and also generate knowledge for application in the conservation of species and public health.

Project details

Genetics and Genomics

Aug 2019

Brazil