PRIMATE FAECAL PATHOGENS

Alongside the rescued monkeys living at Lilongwe Wildlife Centre, there is a wild urban vervet monkey troop living nearby that occasionally interacts with them.

The rescued monkeys who are kept in enclosures have undergone strict health screening exams and quarantine, unlike the wild urban troop whose health is unknown.  At this time, there are little or no published studies on the identification and prevalence of gastrointestinal pathogens among free-ranging monkey troops in Malawi. By studying this through the examination of faecal samples from the wild vervet troop we can not only assess the risk they represent to our rescued monkeys but also contribute to a wider body of research on pathogens.