Molecular Investigation of Plasmodium spp From Faecal Samples of Macaca fascicularis in Indonesia.

Threats to Malaria Elimination Program (MEP) are arising, such as drug-resistant parasites, insecticide-resistant mosquitos and zoonotic malaria. In Southeast Asia, zoonotic emergence of macaque malaria, Plasmodium knowlesi, has been a major concern to the MEP. This parasite is recently established and potentially localised in wild populations of Macaca fascicularis (long-tailed macaques), which are indigenous to South-East Asia. Besides P. knowlesi infection, the macaque is also infected by P. inui and P. cynomolgi, which could be transmissible to humans. However, the parasitology data from Indonesian macaque populations are sparse. Noninvasive sampling methods are the primary tool for primate infectious disease ecology. The present study aimed to investigate Plasmodium spp from faecal samples collected (of long-tailed macaques) in Indonesia. Faecal samples from semicaptive breeding sites and wild M. fascicularis have been collected. A total of 122 M. fascicularis faecal samples were collected from Java (West Java) and Sumatra (Lampung, Palembang and Jambi). DNA samples were extracted and subjected to nested polymerase chain reactions (nPCR) analysis using sets of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) primers to detect Plasmodium genus. There were 46 (37.7%) samples positive of malaria, and four species of Plasmodium parasites (P. inui, P. cynomolgi, P. coatneyi and P. fieldi) were detected in their natural host. None of the faecal samples were identified as being P. knowlesi positive. This study provides baseline information on the occurrence and diversity of simian malaria parasites in M. fascicularis populations in Indonesia using noninvasive samples and highlights the importance of further studies on simian malaria parasites in wildlife hosts.