Evaluation of procedures for the conservation and culture of gastrointestinal parasites from free ranging primates

Abstract

Obtaining good quality fecal samples from freeranging New World Primates is normally a slow and expensive task. So, it is necessary to ensure good sample handling for the optimisation of preservation and diagnosis. During some parasitological studies carried out by the Centro Araguatos, we obtained larvae from coprocultures and fecal samples preserved in a preservative (MIF). These procedures allowed us to study deeper the parasites of free-ranging monkeys. However, we have found problems: like the rapid desiccation of fecal samples in the coprocultures and some limitations on the implementation of the quantitative diagnostic procedures. This study evaluated the effect, use and limitations of using coprocultures and conserving the parasite eggs and cysts in MIF for the study of parasites in free-ranging New World Primates. The results show that it is possible to implement an efficient methodology for the conservation and parasitological analysis of fecal samples of New World Primates using both coprocultures and eggs conserved in MIF. This enhances the capacity of studies and improves diagnostic possibility. The larvae in the fecal samples show better growth in a proportion of fecal sample: substrate (sawdust) of 1:1, in culturing periods ranging from 7 to 15 days. A good dilution of feces: MIF for the conservation of eggs and quists is 1:10.
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Keywords

new world primates
primate parasites
coprocultures
parasite preservation
MIF