Dientamoeba fragilis: Initial Evidence of Pathogenicity in the Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

Felix Lankester; John Anyam Kiyang; Wendi Bailey; Steve Unwin

doi:10.1638/2009-0190.1

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1 June 2010 Dientamoeba fragilis: Initial Evidence of Pathogenicity in the Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

Felix Lankester, John Anyam Kiyang, Wendi Bailey, Steve Unwin

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J. of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 41(2):350-352 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1638/2009-0190.1

Abstract

A 7-yr-old female western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) shared an enclosure with 10 other gorillas at the Limbe Wildlife Centre (LWC), a wildlife rehabilitation centre in Cameroon. The gorilla had been living at the LWC for more than 6 yr prior to the exhibition of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)-like clinical signs. The gorilla improved dramatically after metronidazole therapy. The report suggests that metronidazole was effective because it eliminated the protozoa, Dientamoeba fragilis. Dientamoeba fragilis should be considered on the differential diagnosis list of any captive gorilla with IBS-like symptoms.

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Felix Lankester, John Anyam Kiyang, Wendi Bailey, and Steve Unwin "Dientamoeba fragilis: Initial Evidence of Pathogenicity in the Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)," Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 41(2), 350-352, (1 June 2010). https://doi.org/10.1638/2009-0190.1

Received: 6 October 2009; Published: 1 June 2010

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