Kansas City Zoo

Preventative Health Care of 

Primates in Captivity

Wm. Kirk Suedmeyer, DVM, Dipl. 

ACZM
Kansas City Zoo

Introduction

• Primates are commonly kept in zoological 

collections, research establishments and 

private facilities.

– Prone to infectious, non-infectious, nutritional and 

behavioral maladies.

• Some of these are zoonotic and anthropozoonotic.

– Preventative health care is fundamental to long 

term welfare of primates in captivity
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Introduction

• An ideal program of preventative care includes 

routine exams, dental prophylaxis, appropriate 

diet, housing, enrichment, proper social 

grouping, routine vaccination, fecal exams, 

and screening for infectious disease.
Preventative Health Care

– Routine exams

• Exam under anesthesia

– Safe!

• Physical examination

– Ophthalmic, aural, oropharyngeal, musculoskeletal 

– Abdominal palpation

– Body score

– Pelage characteristics

– Reproductive tract assessment

– Rectal examination

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Preventative Health Care

– Routine exams

• Exam under anesthesia

• Physical examination

• Clinical assessment

– CBC, serum profile

– Viral titers

– Ultrasound

– Colonoscopy

– Whole body radiographs

– Bank sera, plasma

– Skin biopsy

– Urinalysis

– ECG

– Dentistry

– Tuberculin testing

– Fecal exam

– Weight

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Preventative Health Care

– Routine exams

• Vaccinations

– As indicated

» Influenza

» Tetanus

» Rabies

» Measles

» DPT/MMR/polio-great apes

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Preventative Health Care

– Routine exams

• Contraceptive evaluation

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Preventative Health Care

– Nutrition

• General principles

– Majority are omnivorous

– Commercially available pellets

» Balanced nutrition but minimal “variety”

– Foregut fermentors

» Colobus

» High fiber requirement

» Supplement browse

» Avoid high fiber vegetables

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Preventative Health Care

– Nutrition

• General principles

– Protein requirements

» 16% DM Old World monkeys

» 25% DM New World monkeys

– Vitamin C

» Required in diets of all except prosimians

– Vitamin D

» NWP requirement ( not exposed to sunlight)- D3

» Callitrichids have highest requirements

» Vit D2 adequate for old world primates.

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Preventative Health Care

– Nutrition

• General principles

– Vitamin D

» NWP requirement (not exposed to sunlight)- D3

» Callitrichids have highest requirements

» Vitamin D2 adequate for old world primates

» Lack of sunlight/appropriate balance of calcium and 

phosphorous leads to metabolic bone disease

Common!!!

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Preventative Health Care

– Behavioral problems

• Rule-out organic causes

• Many issues relating to stereotypic 

pacing/behavioral abnormalities, 

overgrooming, and self-mutilation 

may be attributed to;

– Improper husbandry

– Inappropriate social groupings

– Lack of conspecific(s)

– Lack of or inappropriate enrichment

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Preventative Health Care

• Behavioral problems

– Natural history of particular species should be adhered to

» Social groupings

» Nocturnal vs diurnal

» Foraging/diet

» Reproduction

» Appropriate housing

• Medication is seldom, if ever warranted as a default!

– Masks underlying issue, but doesn’t correct it

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Preventative Health Care

– Parasitic diseases

• Acanthocephalus

• Gongylonema pulchrun

• Entamoeba histolytica*

• Balantidium coli*

• Giardia*

• Nematodes

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Preventative Health Care

– Bacterial diseases

• Tuberculosis

– Mycobacterium bovis

– Mycobacterium tuberculosis

– Mycobacterium avium

• Salmonella

• Shigella

• Campylobacter

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Preventative Health Care

– Viral diseases-screen as appropriate for species

• RSV-great apes

• Influenza-great apes

• Hepatitis A, B-great apes-chimpanzee

• Enteroviruses-most taxa

• Adenoviruses-most taxa

• Reoviruses-most taxa

• Rhinoviruses-great apes

• Papillomavirus-most taxa

• Herpesviruses- all taxa

• Etc. etc...........

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Preventative Health Care

– Viral diseases

• Zoonotic

• Herpes B- FATAL!

• Macaques

• Lymphotropic polyomavirus

• Simian foamy virus

• Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)

• SV40

• Chimpanzee herpesvirus

• Cytomegalovirus?

• Epstein-barr?

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Preventative Health Care

– Viral diseases

• Zoonotic

• Anthropozoonotic

– Adenovirus

– Herpes hominis, simplex

– Chicken pox

– Small pox

– Measles

– Mumps

– RSV

– Coxsackie virus

– Rhinovirus

– Rubella

– Hepatitis

– Monkeypox

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Anthropozoonoses

• A disease transmitted from people to animals
Anthropozoonoses

• Classes of diseases people can transmit to 

animals

– Viruses

– Bacteria

– Funguses

– Parasites
Anthropozoonoses

• Viruses

• Influenza A (Flu)

– Transmitted to pigs (1998)

– Ferrets, Great Apes, Giant anteaters

• All great apes are vaccinated on a yearly 

basis against influenza 
Anthropozoonoses

• Viruses

• Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

– Contributed to the demise of an infant 

orangutan at the Kansas City Zoo

– Most of our apes have positive titers

– Very common in people!

• Metapneumovirus

– Gorillas, chimpanzees

– Has caused death in 

Mountain gorillas

– Caused demise of chimpanzees at 

Lincoln park zoo
Anthropozoonoses

• Viruses

• Human Herpesvirus 1 (Herpes simplex)

– Fatal to marmosets, cotton topped tamarins, tree shrews

– Staff infected with cold sores should not work with these 

species or diet preparation

– Transmitted by direct contact, aerosolization

– No vaccine available for people or animals

• Coxsackie B virus (enterovirus)

– Have had one chimpanzee and two orangutans 

with documented coxsackie virus in cardiac 

tissue and one chimpanzee clinical illness

– All primates are tested for enteroviruses 
Anthropozoonoses

• Bacteria

• Staphylococcus aureus (Staph)

– Normal flora of the skin (hands, hair, and nares) of people

– The resistant strain is termed MRSA (Methicillin Resistant

Staphylococcus aureus)

» At some point has been transmitted from staff to several 

chimpanzees

» Female Red capped mangabey died of a MRSA 

encephalitis transmitted from the bite of an infected 

male

» MRSA infected African elephant calf 

at San Diego WAP
Anthropozoonoses

• Bacteria

• Staphylococcus warneri (Staph infection)

– Normal flora of the skin (hands, hair, and nares) of people and 

animals

– The resistant strain is termed resistant “Staph” (Resistant 

Staphylococcus )

» At some point may have been transmitted from staff to an 

orangutan at the zoo

• Other resistant bacteria

– Staphylococcus sp

– Enterococcus sp
Anthropozoonoses

• Bacteria

• Mycobacteria tuberculosis (TB)

– People to Asian elephants (India, Nepal)

– Paucity of information regarding transmission to primates

– ?????
Anthropozoonoses

• Bacteria

• Escherichia coli

– Intestinal tract-fecal contamination

– Can carry resistance factors

– Chimpanzees

• Salmonella typhimurium

– Intestinal tract-fecal contamination

– “Typhoid Mary”

» Cook

» Infected 53 people, 3 died

– Tony Labella

» Cook

» Infected 100 people, 5 died
Anthropozoonoses

• Funguses

• Microsporum audouinii

– Dog, guinea pig, monkey
Anthropozoonoses

• Parasites

• Giardia lamblia

– Transmitted to Mountain gorillas

– Transmitted to chimpanzees

– Fecal-oral route

• Strongyles

– Hookworms (Ancylostoma)

– Transmitted to gorillas, chimpanzees

– Fecal-oral or direct skin penetration

• Cryptosporidium

– Fecal-oral route

– No treatment

– Controversial contagion
Anthropozoonoses

• Parasites

• Entamoeba histolytica

– Humans are primary hosts

– Transmits through fecal-oral route

– Can penetrate intestinal tract

» Travels through bloodstream

» Causes hepatic abscesses

– Have had clinical illness in a gorilla at the 

Kansas City zoo

– Has infected chimpanzees at the Kansas City zoo

– Has caused demise of colobus monkeys at the 

Kansas City zoo

– Has infected staff at the Kansas City zoo

Anthropozoonoses

• Preventing transmission of pathogens from us to our 

animals (and from them!).

– Do not directly touch animals without gloves-especially 

primates

– Routine surveillance (TB tests, fecal exams)

– Wear masks when in close proximity to primates (i.e. 

restraint, netting, cleaning, etc.)

– Practice proper hygiene principles

• Do not work with susceptible animals or food preparation when 

you are ill

• Wash hands!

• Shower/bathe regularly

• Routine vaccination (school vaccines)

• Use footbaths!
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Conclusion

• Preventative health care programs should be 

tailored on a risk/benefit basis, including 

manpower and costs.

• Preventative health care is integral to the long 

term benefit of captive primates

• Basic hygiene and an understanding of 

maladies affecting primates is necessary to 

prevent zoonoses and anthropozoonoses
Routine Health Care

– Non-infectious diseases of primates

• MBD

• Scurvy

• Iron storage disease

• Dental diseases

• Diabetes

• Hypothyroidism

• Renal disease

• Reproductive disease

• Laryngeal air sacculitis

• Cardiovascular disease

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