RETRACTED: Tracking Plasmodium knowlesi Through Fecal DNA for Monitoring Zoonotic Transmission in Wild Macaques Across Southeast and South Asia

The Journal of Infectious Diseases 2026 Open access

Read full text
Authors: Dhammika Leshan Wannigama, Mohan Amarasiri, Phatthranit Phattharapornjaroen, Cameron Paul Hurst, Charin Modchang, Bernadina Cynthia, Kazuhiko Miyanaga, Longzhu Cui, Fernandez Stefan, Nada M. Melhem, Sirirat Luk-in, Andrew C Singer
+35 more Naveen Kumar Devanga Ragupathi, Thin Sandi Htun, Kazunari Sei, Natharin Ngamwongsatit, Ng Sin Hui, Yoshitaka Shimotai, Puey Ounjai, Phitsanuruk Kanthawee, Ratana Tacharoenmuang, Alice Kauba, Chorney Eang, Lavinia Romone, Mahesh Dharne, Juliana Calabria Araújo, Lazarus G. Ndatuwong, W K C P Werawatte, Traychit Chanthasiri, Jinxin Zhao, Hirotake Mori, John Jefferson V. Besa, Özgür Kurt, Talerngsak Kanjanabuch, Ali Reza Zahraei-Ramazani, Paul G Higgins, Tetsuji Aoyagi, Anthony Kicic, Sam A. Trowsdale, Parichart Hongsing, Xiaonan Yang, Wang Yangzhong, Aisha Khatib, Daisuke Sano, Kenji Shibuya, Shuichi Abe, Hiroshi Hamamoto
DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiag128
Cited by: 1
References: 15

Abstract

We conducted the noninvasive surveillance of Plasmodium knowlesi in wild macaques using 4752 fecal samples collected across 9 endemic countries. Parasite DNA was detected in 390 samples (8.2%), with positivity rates ranging from 1.4% to 18.4%. This provides the first field-based evidence that P. knowlesi DNA in feces shed by macaques and present under natural conditions can be detected. These findings validate fecal sampling as a practical and scalable tool for tracking zoonotic-malaria. The results support integration into forest-runoff and rural wastewater surveillance systems, offering new opportunities for early detection of pathogens and environmental monitoring at the human-wildlife interface.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Malaria Research and Control Primate Behavior and Ecology Bird parasitology and diseases

Publication details

Journal / source
The Journal of Infectious Diseases
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Volume
233
Issue
5
Pages
e1238–e1243
Publication date
2 March 2026
Language
EN