Seroprevalence of Japanese encephalitis virus infection in captive Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata)

• Published in: Primates Vol. 55; no. 3; pp. 441 - 445
• Main Authors: Shimoda, Hiroshi, Saito, Akatsuki, Noguchi, Keita, Terada, Yutaka, Kuwata, Ryusei, Akari, Hirofumi, Takasaki, Tomohiko, Maeda, Ken
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo Springer Japan 01.07.2014; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal diseases; Animal Ecology; Animal populations; Animal species; Animals; Animals, Laboratory; Aquatic insects; Behavioral Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Encephalitis Virus, Japanese - isolation & purification; Encephalitis, Japanese - epidemiology; Encephalitis, Japanese - veterinary; Encephalitis, Japanese - virology; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - veterinary; Evolutionary Biology; Female; Horses; Humans; Japanese encephalitis virus; Life Sciences; Macaca; Macaca fuscata; Male; Monkey Diseases - epidemiology; Monkey Diseases - virology; Monkeys & apes; Mosquitoes; Original Article; Prevalence; Primates; Risk Assessment; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Vector-borne diseases; Viral infections; Zoology; Japanese encephalitis virus; Monkeys; ELISA
• ISSN: 0032-8332; 1610-7365; 1610-7365
• DOI: 10.1007/s10329-014-0421-7

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), which is transmitted by mosquitoes, infects many animal species and causes serious acute encephalitis in humans and horses. In this study, a serosurvey of JEV in Japanese macaques ( Macaca fuscata ) reared in Aichi Prefecture was conducted using purified JEV as an antigen for ELISA. The results revealed that 146 of 332 monkeys (44 %) were seropositive for JEV. In addition, 35 of 131 monkeys (27 %) born in the facility were seropositive, and the annual infection rate in the facility was estimated as 13 %. Our results provide evidence of the frequent exposure of many Japanese macaques to JEV, suggesting that there is a risk of JEV transmission to humans by mosquitoes.