Diagnóstico histopatológico de entamoebiosis en un primate en cautiverio (Alouatta caraya)

Abstract

Entamoebiosis is a disease caused by Entamoeba histolytica, a protozoan that can live in the large intestine without causing disease and spreads through water or food contaminated with feces from being humans and other primates, the natural hosts. The aim of this study was to report the occurrence of entamoebiosis in a 2 months-old male howler monkey (Alouatta caraya), located at the zoo of Corrientes City (Argentina). Animal was bottle-fed artificially and housed with three monkeys of the same age. After natural death, necropsy was performed and organs were fixed in 10% formalin and processed by conventional histological techniques for paraffin blocks. Protozoa were observed throughout the mucosa and submucosa and in the intestinal lumen as amoeboid structures at different stages of evolution, forming galleries throughout the mucosa. The submucosa showed edema and mononuclear infiltration. The presence of this parasite in a young primate emphasises the importance of captivity management, where the successful conservation of species depend on multiple factors that should be taken into account when designing management programs.