Toxoplasma

J. Comp. Path. 2003, Vol. 129, 196–204 doi: 10.1016/S0021-9975(03)00035-5, available online at http://www.sciencedirect.com on

Pathology of Toxoplasmosis in Captive New World Primates
S. Epiphanio, I. L. Sinhorini and J. L. Catao-Dias ˜
Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterina e Zootecnia, Universidade de Sao Paulo. Av. ´ria ˜ Prof. Dr Orlando Marques de Paiva 87, CidadeUniversita ´ria, CEP 05508-900 Sao Paulo SP, Brazil ˜

Summary
Clinical information was available for 32 of 33 New World primates with fatal toxoplasmosis, all of which were subjected to a variable number of pathological observations. Death without apparent clinical signs occurred in 43.7% of cases. The most common clinical findings were malaise (40.6%), dyspnoea (18.7%), hypothermia (15.6%) and asero-sanguinous or foamy nasal discharge (12.5%). Nutritional status was good in 71.8%, average in 18.7% and poor in 9.4%. The most common post-mortem findings were pulmonary congestion (78.8%), pulmonary oedema (75.8%), splenomegaly (57.6%) and mesenteric lymphadenitis (54.6%). The most common histopathological findings were multifocal necrotic hepatitis (97%), lymphadenitis (95.4%), interstitialpneumonia (90.3%) and necrotic splenitis (71.4%). The gross post-mortem changes in cebids were more variable than those observed in callitrichids, a fact that may complicate the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in cebids. q 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: new world primates; parasitic infection; Toxoplasma gondii; toxoplasmosis.

Introduction
Preservation of wild species incaptivity, together with reintroduction programmes, is an important tool for the conservation of endangered species. Cross-species infection may, however, occur in zoological collections (Griffith et al., 1993) and understanding of potential infections in nonhuman primates is essential for their maintenance in captivity and for the management of free-ranging populations (Lowenstine, 1986). Toxoplasmosisaffects man and many warmblooded animals (Dubey, 1986). Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite, with an enteroepithelial cycle in the definitive host (domestic cats and other members of the family Felidae), and an extraintestinal cycle in intermediate hosts (many mammals and birds). It may be transmitted by the consumption of infected flesh, or by the oralfaecal route, or congenitally(Dubey et al., 1998).
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In recent experimental studies, Furuta et al. (2001) indicated the possibility of aerosol transmission of T. gondii to squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus). There are many reports of toxoplasmosis in New World primates (Hessler et al., 1971; Anderson and McClure, 1982; Borst and Van Knapen, 1984; Cunningham et al., 1992; Von Brack et al.,1995; Dietz et al., 1997; Pertz et al., 1997; Juan-Salles et al., ´ 1998; Bouer et al., 1999; Epiphanio et al., 2000, 2001), which are much more susceptible than Old World primates (Dickson et al., 1983; Dubey and Beattie, 1988; Escajadillo and Frenkel, 1991; Anderson and McClure, 1993), rarely surviving the disease (Dubey, 1986). The reason for this high susceptibility remains unclear(Cunningham et al., 1992; Juan-Salles et al., 1998). The objective of the ´ present investigation was to contribute to the understanding of toxoplasmosis in captive New World primates.
q 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Toxoplasmosis in Captive New World Primates
Table 1 Details of 33 cases of fatal toxoplasmosis in New World primates Case no 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 2021 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Necropsy date 15/07/91 06/12/91 16/03/94 16/03/94 23/03/94 29/03/95 30/03/95 01/12/95 17/09/96 20/09/96 20/12/96 20/10/97 21/10/97 21/10/97 21/10/97 18/12/97 09/04/98 11/12/95 28/09/96 21/10/96 02/10/96 06/11/98 24/02/99 26/02/99 13/03/99 13/03/99 18/09/95 26/10/98 20/09/99 26/06/99 15/03/00 15/02/01 19/02/01 Species Leontopithecus chrysomelas Leontopithecus...