Molecular Detection of Zoonotic Helminths Infection Non-Human Primates in Kenyan Urban Centres

Mbuthia, Peris Wanjiru

dc.contributor.author	Mbuthia, Peris Wanjiru
dc.date.issued	2020-11
dc.date.accessioned	2021-08-23T07:46:32Z
dc.date.available	2021-08-23T07:46:32Z
dc.identifier.uri	http://41.89.96.81:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2755
dc.description.abstract	Naturalinfectionswithsoiltransmittedhelminthicnematodesoccurinnon-humanpri mates(NHPs)andhavethepotentialtocrossprimate speciesboundariesandcausediseasesofsignificantpublichealthconcern.Consequently,theidentificationandmolecularcharacterisa-tionofwormsinfectingNHPslivinginproximitytohumansiskeytosurveillanceandcontrolofzoonoticnematodesoriginatingfromwildlife.DespitethepresenceofNHPsinmosturbancentresinKenya,thereislittleinformationongeneticcharacterisationofcirculatingsoiltrans-mittedparasiticnematodesandtheroleofNHPsasréservoirsinurbansettings.Therefore,acrosssectionalsurveywasundertaken,andpolymerasechainreactioncoupledwithhigh-res-olutionmelting(PCR-HRM)analysisandmicroscopyappliedfordetectionofparasiticnema-todesinfectingfree-rangingcommonNHPsfoundwithinselectedurbancentresinKenyanamelyMombasa,Kisumu,KakamegaandMurang’a.Eighty-sixfaecalsamplesfromChlorocebusaethiops(Africangreenmonkey,AGM,n=41),Papioanubis(Olivebaboon,n=30),Cercopithecusmitis(bluemonkey,n=5)andCercopithecusascanius(red-tailedmon-key,n=10)werecollectedbyrectalswabbing.CombinationofparasitologicalidentificationandPCR-HRMdetectionofhelminthicnematoderevealedarichdiversityofhelminthsinclud-ingOesophagostomumstephanostomumandOesophagostomumbifurcum.PCR-HRManaly-sisofITS 2rDNAgenegeneratedtwodistinctprofilescorrespondingtoO.stephanostomumandO.bifurcum,andtheresultswasfurtherconfirmedbysequencing.TwoAGMswerein-fectedwithO.stephanostomumandatotalof11NHPswereco-infectedwithO.stephanostomumandO.bifurcum.Phylogenyanalysisoftheparasites’sequencesshowedO.stephanostomumandO.bifurcumclusteredwithreferencehumanisolatessuggestingclosegeneticsimilarities.Overall,thisstudydemonstratedthesuitabilityofPCR-HRMasanon-subjectivemethodforrapiddetectionanddifferentiationofnodularwormsbygenerationofdistinctmeltcurvesforeachwormspecies.Toourknowledge,wereport,forthefirsttime,theco-infectionofnodularwormsinNHPs,whichfurtherinformsontheepidemiologyofthesezoonoticnematodesinKenyaurbancentres.Finally,resultsconfirmingthatdifferentspeciesofNHPsharbourpotentiallyzoonoticnematodeswithinurbanenvironswillinformonbroaderhelminthcontrolstrategiesinendemictropicalcountrieslikeKenya.	en_US
dc.description.sponsorship	Consortium for National Health Re-search (CNHR) grant, Kenya (Project number RCDG-041/2012) Global Enhancement Fund grant, USA (2017)	en_US
dc.language.iso	en	en_US
dc.publisher	Egerton University	en_US
dc.subject	Molecular Detection	en_US
dc.title	Molecular Detection of Zoonotic Helminths Infection Non-Human Primates in Kenyan Urban Centres	en_US
dc.type	Thesis	en_US