Trypanosome Infections in the Marmoset (Saguinus Geoffroyi) from the Panama Canal Zone *

Abstract

From August 1973 through May 1974 a total of 148 marmosets (Saguinus geoffroyi) were examined for blood parasites. Parasites were detected in 93.2% of the monkeys. Direct examination of blood revealed 82.4% infected with trypanosomes; Trypanosoma cruzi was seen in 1.3% of the animals examined, T. minasense in 52.7% and T. rangeli in 25%. However, the use of several diagnostic tests (direct microscopic examination, hemoculture, xenodiagnosis, and animal inoculation) in 15 marmosets revealed T. cruzi in 40%, T. rangeli in 93%, and T. minasense in 87%. The high rate of infection among marmosets suggests that they are important natural hosts of T. cruzi and T. rangeli in the Panama Canal Zone.