MaRGA Meeting, 2004: Abstracts

5: Clinical / Husbandry / Management

Pathology of Common Marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) Diseases

K. Mansfield

Affiliation: New England National Primate Research Center, Harvard Medical School, Southborough, MA

The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) is a small New World primate that has been used extensively in biomedical research for the past 30 years. Spontaneous pathology and diseases recognized in common marmosets and other Callitrichidae differ from that seen in Old World primate species. These differences result from unique susceptibilities to infectious agents, dietary requirements and species specific degenerative diseases that have arisen due to extensive evolutionary divergence coupled with adaptation to the neotropical environment. The laboratory animal scientist must appreciate these significant differences when utilizing marmosets in pursuit of their research goals. Furthermore these differences may also present unique opportunities in model development not available in more traditional nonhuman primate species. Knowledge of disease entities within a colony is critical in providing well defined research animals and is dependant on proactive disease surveillance. Colony disease surveillance should include routine preventative health care, a rigorous diagnostic approach to clinical illness and gross and histologic examination of all colony animals at necropsy. Common entities observed within the New England Primate Research Center marmoset breeding colony include systemic amyloidosis, inflammatory bowel disease, interstitial nephritis, adenocarcinoma of the small intestine, metabolic bone disease and a variety of enteric pathogens including enteropathogenic E. coli, Giardia and Campylobacter jejuni. Such spontaneous disease entities must be recognized in order to understand their impact on biomedical research programs and colony health.