| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this master research internship was to examine whether the primates at Stichting AAP, excrete and so have, the pathogenic gastrointestinal protozoa Giardia spp., Cryptosporidium spp. and Entamoeba histolytica/dispar. It also was examined if it is possible to determine how many of these protozoa they have in their feces. In this research the feces was examined for Giardia spp., Cryptosporidium spp. and Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, because only these protozoa are known to cause diarrhea in NHP (Non Human Primates) (Levecke, 2010). Giardia spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. are both very common in NHP and cause in general not much harm, but can have clinical importance. Entamoeba histolytica can cause more serious symptoms and a sudden outbreak of diarrhea. The presence and clinical impact on primates is still unknown (Levecke et al., 2007).
Additionally it was examined whether there was a link between the presence of each of these three species of protozoa and the fecal consistency. For seven weeks feces of the primates was tested for the three species of protozoa. The primates at Stichting AAP were housed both individually and in groups. There were also changes between the individuals and groups. This research included 32 primates. The animals were all housed on deep litter.
Diarrhea, mush and normal feces were collected and examined during seven weeks, two to three times a week. The samples were taken randomly out of the enclosures of the primates. Fecal samples were collected when the enclosures of the primates were cleaned. The collection and further processing of the feces samples was done as sterile as possible and, the keepers were instructed how to do this.
In this study all three species of examined pathogenic protozoa were found in the feces samples of the primates. These protozoa were found in solid, mush and diarrhea feces samples in more or less the same percentages. Also after statistical analysis, with this research could not be proven that there was a link between one of the protozoa found and the diarrhea of the primates.
By microscopic examination samples were found with Giardia spp., Entamoeba spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. By multiplexPCR only samples with Entamoeba histolytica/dispar and very few samples with Giardia were found. Also other influences like shifts and medication/sedation that can cause the diarrhea are mentioned, but to examine these possible influences further research is necessary. | |
