Abstract

A health evaluation study was conducted in eight wild groups of golden lion tamarins (GLT) and nine groups of common marmosets (CM) in a 1000 ha fragment of lowland Atlantic Rainforest in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We analyzed 75 fecal samples from 35 individual GLT and 13 individual CM using the spontaneous sedimentation method. A total of 1676 parasite eggs were collected from the primates, representing four different parasitic helminths. All four species of parasites were found in both GLT and CM. A comparison of parasites according to primate species showed neither morphometric nor statistical differences. The helminth eggs were classified as Prosthenorchis elegans (68.47±4.36 µm x 46.10±15.89 µm; n=693); Ancylostomatidae (50.14±0.804µm x 29.57±9.34 µm; n=876); Ascaris sp. (64.33±3.68 µm x 52.46±5.46 µm; n=68); and Oxyuridae (60.71±4.76 µm x 27.86±2.11 µm; n=34).

Blood samples from 13 GLT and 55 CM were tested for the human serotype of Trypanosoma cruzi. Nine CM from four groups were positive by the indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFAT) with titers ranging from 1:20 to 1:320. Questions relating to the epidemiologic position of these primates in the Chagas disease cycle and their potential susceptibility to disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi are still unresolved. Studies are underway to identify the vector in the forest ecosystem and to evaluate the common marmoset as a possible reservoir.

Acknowledgments

This research was made possible by the financial and logistical support of the Golden Lion Tamarin Association, LCA/UENF, FENORTE, Ecology Lab/ENSP/FIOCRUZ, PROBIO and Trypanosomatids Biology Lab/IOC/FIOCRUZ.