Trypanosoma cruzi transmission in a captive primate unit, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

A breeding in captivity program of neotropical primates for subsequent reintroduction in nature is in progress at the Primatology Center of Rio de Janeiro (CPRJ). Almost 200 animals of 20 species that include both wild captured animals and specimens born in captivity are maintained in CPRJ. Here, we examined 198 primates of CPRJ for infection with the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. The animals included 18 species of eight genera. We also performed an "ad lib" search for triatomines that could be incriminated as putative transmitters of the protozoan in this scenario. Anti-T. cruzi antibodies were observed (by indirect immunofluorescence assay-IFA) in 40 monkeys (26.5%). Four Panstrongylus megistus were collected in the monkey's food storage room near the cages and in human dwellings in the proximity to CPRJ. T. cruzi were isolated from nine primates of two genera (Leontopithecus and Saguinus) and from two individuals of the vector P. megistus. The transmission inside the cages could be attested by the isolation of the T. cruzi from primates born in captivity. Multi-locus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) demonstrated that the two isolates from Saguinus bicolor bicolor displayed a zymodeme 1 profile in four out of five tested enzymes, while all isolates derived from Leontopithecus showed zymodeme 2 for four out of the five tested enzymes. Mini-exon gene analysis genotyped all isolates as T. cruzi II, which is associated with human disease in Brazil. A wild primate unit such as CPRJ, located inside the forest and near to human dwellings and with T. cruzi II infected animals, deserves a careful surveillance in order to prevent expansion of the infection.