<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Rhesus macaques (<italic>Macaca mulatta)</italic> are distributed across Nepal in close association with humans and with a high probability of sharing of soil-transmitted intestinal helminth parasites. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence, richness and risk factors of gastrointestinal (GI) helminth parasites among rhesus macaques and humans in the Daunne Forest area, a community managed forest in the central mid-hills of Nepal. A total of 190 fecal samples, including 120 samples from rhesus macaques residing around the Daunne Devi Temple and in the surrounding forest, and 70 from local people, were microscopically examined by direct wet mount, floatation and sedimentation methods. Seasonal and age-sex based variations in helminth parasite prevalence were analyzed. Among the rhesus macaques, the total parasite prevalence was 39.2 %. <italic>Strongyloides</italic> sp. accounted for the highest prevalence (19.17 %) followed by <italic>Ascaris</italic> sp. (13.33 %), hookworm (10.83 %) and <italic>Trichuris</italic> sp. (4.17 %). Among the humans, <italic>Ascaris lumbricoides</italic> (11.3 %) was the only parasite detected. The Sorenson’s coefficient of similarity of GI parasites between the macaques and local people at the generic level was 0.4. Mean parasite richness for the macaques was 1.21 ± 0.41 (SD) per infected sample. Parasite prevalence in the summer season (41.4 %) was higher than in the winter season (36 %). Adult macaques (41.67 %) had higher GI parasite prevalence than the young (30.77 %) and infants (27.27 %). Among the adult macaques, the prevalence rate was significantly higher (<italic>P</italic>=0.005) in females (52.46 %) than in males (22.86 %). Our results indicate that the temple rhesus macaques have a high prevalence of GI helminth parasites and could pose a potential zoonotic risk. As such, the need for routine monitoring and an effective management strategy is essential.</p>
</abstract>

Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) are distributed across Nepal in close association with humans and with a high probability of sharing of soil-transmitted intestinal helminth parasites. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence, richness and risk factors of gastrointestinal (GI) helminth parasites among rhesus macaques and humans in the Daunne Forest area, a community managed forest in the central mid-hills of Nepal. A total of 190 fecal samples, including 120 samples from rhesus macaques residing around the Daunne Devi Temple and in the surrounding forest, and 70 from local people, were microscopically examined by direct wet mount, floatation and sedimentation methods. Seasonal and age-sex based variations in helminth parasite prevalence were analyzed. Among the rhesus macaques, the total parasite prevalence was 39.2 %. Strongyloides sp. accounted for the highest prevalence (19.17 %) followed by Ascaris sp. (13.33 %), hookworm (10.83 %) and Trichuris sp. (4.17 %). Among the humans, Ascaris lumbricoides (11.3 %) was the only parasite detected. The Sorenson’s coefficient of similarity of GI parasites between the macaques and local people at the generic level was 0.4. Mean parasite richness for the macaques was 1.21 ± 0.41 (SD) per infected sample. Parasite prevalence in the summer season (41.4 %) was higher than in the winter season (36 %). Adult macaques (41.67 %) had higher GI parasite prevalence than the young (30.77 %) and infants (27.27 %). Among the adult macaques, the prevalence rate was significantly higher (P=0.005) in females (52.46 %) than in males (22.86 %). Our results indicate that the temple rhesus macaques have a high prevalence of GI helminth parasites and could pose a potential zoonotic risk. As such, the need for routine monitoring and an effective management strategy is essential.

Prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth parasites in rhesus macaques and local residents in the central mid-hills of Nepal

Central Department of Zoology, Institute of Science and Technology

Departments of Psychology, Global Health, and Anthropology, Center for Global Field Study, and Washington National Primate Research Center

Helminthologia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) are distributed across Nepal in close association with humans and with a high probability of sharing of soil-transmitted...

S.N.	Category	Description
1.	Adult male (61)	Full grown with adult morphology (e.g., pink scrotum and prominent testes)
2.	Adult female (35)	Full grown with adult morphology (e.g., elongated nipples, carrying baby)
3.	Young (13)	Individuals lacking secondary sexual characteristics and have near adult size
4.	Infant (11)	Small individuals nursed or are still in frequent proximity to a female

Prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth parasites in rhesus macaques and local residents in the central mid-hills of Nepal

Published Online: Dec 31, 2023

Page range: 327 - 335

Received: Aug 12, 2023

Accepted: Oct 20, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/helm-2023-0037

Keywords
Non-human primates, Temple monkeys, Parasite richness, Daunne Devi Temple

© 2023 S. Tandan et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

Age-sex categories and sample number of macaques in the study (n=120).

GI helminth parasite prevalence in rhesus macaques and local people.

	Rhesus macaques (n=120)		Local people (n=70)
Parasite	Number of positive samples	Prevalence (%)	Number of positive samples	Prevalence (%)
Strongyloides sp.	23	19.17	0	0
Ascaris sp.	16	13.33	-	-
Ascaris lumbricoides	-	-	8	11.4
Hookworm	13	10.83	0	0
Trichuris sp.	5	4.17	0	0

Prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth parasites in rhesus macaques and local residents in the central mid-hills of Nepal

Published Online: Dec 31, 2023

Page range: 327 - 335

Received: Aug 12, 2023

Accepted: Oct 20, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/helm-2023-0037

KeywordsNon-human primates, Temple monkeys, Parasite richness, Daunne Devi Temple

© 2023 S. Tandan et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

Age-sex categories and sample number of macaques in the study (n=120).

GI helminth parasite prevalence in rhesus macaques and local people.

Keywords
Non-human primates, Temple monkeys, Parasite richness, Daunne Devi Temple