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The Prevalence of Trypanosomes and Microfilariae in Panamanian Monkeys^*

A total of 3,523 wild caught monkeys from Panama was examined for blood parasites from August 1968 through June 1972. Trypanosomes or microfilariae were observed in the blood of 31.1% of the monkeys. Mixed infections, with microfilariae and trypanosomes, were detected in 6.6% of the animals. Trypanosoma cruzi was found in marmosets, Saguinus geoffroyi (12.2%), in white-faced capuchins, Cebus capucinus (5.0%), in squirrel monkeys, Saimiri sciureus (1.7%), and in black spider monkeys, Ateles fusciceps (1.2%). Trypanosoma rangeli was found in S. geoffroyi (55.8%) and C. capucinus (12.5%). Other trypanosomes found in Panamanian monkeys included T. minasense, and T. mycetae. Saguinus geoffroyi showed the highest infection rate (88.9%) with trypanosomes and/or microfilariae; trypanosomes were seen in 68.1%, and microfilariae in 73.0%, of the animals examined. The marmosets, white-faced capuchins, and squirrel monkeys should be considered as significant hosts of T. cruzi in sylvatic habitats and may serve as reservoir hosts of Chagas' disease in Panama. The microfilariae seen in monkeys from Panama were tentatively identified as larval forms of Dipetalonema gracile in Aotus trivirgalus; D. obtusa in C. capucinus and S. geoffroyi; and D. marmosetae in Alouatta villosa, C. capucinus, A. trivirgatus, S. sciureus, A. fusciceps, and S. geoffroyi.

Accepted for publication February 2, 1974.

^* This work was supported in part by Grant No. HE 10689 from the National Heart and Lung Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, and U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command Contracts No. DADA 17-69-C9126 and DADA 17-72-C-2031.