The Silvered Leaf-Monkey of Malaysia, Presbytis cristatus: Disease Model for Human Scrub Typhus

Abstract
Silvered leaf-monkeys, Presbytis cristatus, inoculated intradermally with Rickettsia tsutsugamushi developed clinical illness and eschars identical to those seen in human scrub typhus. Rickettsemias were observed, and two of 14 animals died. Chronic infection was proven in 11 of the 12 survivors. This susceptibility was due, in part, to the arboreal habits and habitat, the mangrove swamp, of the silvered leaf-monkey. Macaca fascicularis and Macaca nemestrina were shown to have preexisting antibodies to R. tsutsugamushi, while all silvered leaf-monkeys tested lacked antibody.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: