Main Article Content

Baboons as potential reservoirs of zoonotic gastrointestinal parasite infections at Yankari National Park, Nigeria


HB Mafuyai
Y Barshep
BS Audu
D Kumbak
TO Ojobe

Abstract

Background: Zoonoses pose a risk to public health.
Objective: To carry out the investigation of the prevalence of  gastrointestinal parasites of baboons, Papio anubis, frequenting the Wikki base Camp in Yankari National Park, Nigeria
Method: Formol-ether concentration technique was used to isolate parasite eggs and cysts from faecal samples.
Results: Parasites recovered were Ascaris lumbricoides, Ancylostoma duodenale, Strongyloides stercoralis, Fasciola sp, Schistosoma mansoni, Hymenolepis nana, and Trichostrongylus sp, and cysts of protozoan  parasites Entomoeba histolytica, E. coli, and Iodamoeba butschii.
Conclusion: Most of the parasites identified are known to have high pathologic involvement in humans, implicating the baboons as potential source and reservoirs for human zoonotic parasitic infections although further molecular work would be necessary to ascertain if these  gastrointestinal parasites are the same strains that infect humans

Keywords: Papio anubis, gastrointestinal parasites, zoonoses, Yankari


Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 1729-0503
print ISSN: 1680-6905