Tracking Plasmodium Knowlesi Through Fecal Dna for Monitoring Zoonotic Transmission in Wild Macaques Across Southeast and South Asia

Tracking Plasmodium Knowlesi Through Fecal Dna for Monitoring Zoonotic Transmission in Wild Macaques Across Southeast and South Asia Publisher Pubmed

Wannigama DL ; Amarasiri M ; Phattharapornjaroen P ; Hurst C ; Modchang C ; Cynthia B ; Miyanaga K ; Cui L ; Fernandez S ; Melhem NM ; Lukin S ; Singer AC ; Ragupathi NKD ; Htun TS Show All Authors

Wannigama DL
Amarasiri M
Phattharapornjaroen P
Hurst C
Modchang C
Cynthia B
Miyanaga K
Cui L
Fernandez S
Melhem NM
Lukin S
Singer AC
Ragupathi NKD
Htun TS
Sei K
Ngamwongsatit N
Hui NS
Shimotai Y
Ounjai P
Kanthawee P
Tacharoenmuang R
Kauba A
Eang C
Romone L
Dharne M
De Araujo JC
Ndatuwong LG
Werawatte WKCP
Chanthasiri T
Zhao J
Mori H
Besa JJV
Kurt O
Kanjanabuch T
Zahraeiramazani AR
Higgins PG
Aoyagi T
Kicic A
Trowsdale S
Hongsing P
Yang X
Wang Y
Khatib A
Sano D
Shibuya K
Abe S
Hamamoto H

Source: Journal of Infectious Diseases Published:2026

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. © The Author(s) 2026. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial reproduction and distribution of the work, in any medium, provided the original work is not altered or transformed in any way, and that the work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.

Style	Citing Format
MLA	Wannigama DL, et al.. "Tracking Plasmodium Knowlesi Through Fecal Dna for Monitoring Zoonotic Transmission in Wild Macaques Across Southeast and South Asia." Journal of Infectious Diseases, vol. 233, no. 5, 2026, pp. e1238-e1243.
APA	Wannigama DL, Amarasiri M, Phattharapornjaroen P, Hurst C, Modchang C, Cynthia B, Miyanaga K, Cui L, Fernandez S, Melhem NM, Lukin S, Singer AC, Ragupathi NKD, Htun TS, Sei K, Ngamwongsatit N, Hui NS, Shimotai Y, Ounjai P, ... Hamamoto H (2026). Tracking Plasmodium Knowlesi Through Fecal Dna for Monitoring Zoonotic Transmission in Wild Macaques Across Southeast and South Asia. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 233(5), e1238-e1243.
Chicago	Wannigama DL, Amarasiri M, Phattharapornjaroen P, Hurst C, Modchang C, Cynthia B, Miyanaga K, et al.. "Tracking Plasmodium Knowlesi Through Fecal Dna for Monitoring Zoonotic Transmission in Wild Macaques Across Southeast and South Asia." Journal of Infectious Diseases 233, no. 5 (2026): e1238-e1243.
Harvard	Wannigama DL et al. (2026) 'Tracking Plasmodium Knowlesi Through Fecal Dna for Monitoring Zoonotic Transmission in Wild Macaques Across Southeast and South Asia', Journal of Infectious Diseases, 233(5), pp. e1238-e1243.
Vancouver	Wannigama DL, Amarasiri M, Phattharapornjaroen P, Hurst C, Modchang C, Cynthia B, et al.. Tracking Plasmodium Knowlesi Through Fecal Dna for Monitoring Zoonotic Transmission in Wild Macaques Across Southeast and South Asia. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2026;233(5):e1238-e1243.
BibTex	@article{ author = {Wannigama DL and Amarasiri M and Phattharapornjaroen P and Hurst C and Modchang C and Cynthia B and Miyanaga K and Cui L and Fernandez S and Melhem NM and Lukin S and Singer AC and Ragupathi NKD and Htun TS and Sei K and Ngamwongsatit N and Hui NS and Shimotai Y and Ounjai P and Kanthawee P and Tacharoenmuang R and Kauba A and Eang C and Romone L and Dharne M and De Araujo JC and Ndatuwong LG and Werawatte WKCP and Chanthasiri T and Zhao J and Mori H and Besa JJV and Kurt O and Kanjanabuch T and Zahraeiramazani AR and Higgins PG and Aoyagi T and Kicic A and Trowsdale S and Hongsing P and Yang X and Wang Y and Khatib A and Sano D and Shibuya K and Abe S and Hamamoto H}, title = {Tracking Plasmodium Knowlesi Through Fecal Dna for Monitoring Zoonotic Transmission in Wild Macaques Across Southeast and South Asia}, journal = {Journal of Infectious Diseases}, volume = {233}, number = {5}, pages = {e1238-e1243}, year = {2026} }
RIS	TY - JOUR AU - Wannigama DL AU - Amarasiri M AU - Phattharapornjaroen P AU - Hurst C AU - Modchang C AU - Cynthia B AU - Miyanaga K AU - Cui L AU - Fernandez S AU - Melhem NM AU - Lukin S AU - Singer AC AU - Ragupathi NKD AU - Htun TS AU - Sei K AU - Ngamwongsatit N AU - Hui NS AU - Shimotai Y AU - Ounjai P AU - Kanthawee P AU - Tacharoenmuang R AU - Kauba A AU - Eang C AU - Romone L AU - Dharne M AU - De Araujo JC AU - Ndatuwong LG AU - Werawatte WKCP AU - Chanthasiri T AU - Zhao J AU - Mori H AU - Besa JJV AU - Kurt O AU - Kanjanabuch T AU - Zahraeiramazani AR AU - Higgins PG AU - Aoyagi T AU - Kicic A AU - Trowsdale S AU - Hongsing P AU - Yang X AU - Wang Y AU - Khatib A AU - Sano D AU - Shibuya K AU - Abe S AU - Hamamoto H TI - Tracking Plasmodium Knowlesi Through Fecal Dna for Monitoring Zoonotic Transmission in Wild Macaques Across Southeast and South Asia JO - Journal of Infectious Diseases VL - 233 IS - 5 SP - e1238 EP - e1243 PY - 2026 ER -

Style

Citing Format

MLA

Wannigama DL, et al.. "Tracking Plasmodium Knowlesi Through Fecal Dna for Monitoring Zoonotic Transmission in Wild Macaques Across Southeast and South Asia." Journal of Infectious Diseases, vol. 233, no. 5, 2026, pp. e1238-e1243.

APA

Wannigama DL, Amarasiri M, Phattharapornjaroen P, Hurst C, Modchang C, Cynthia B, Miyanaga K, Cui L, Fernandez S, Melhem NM, Lukin S, Singer AC, Ragupathi NKD, Htun TS, Sei K, Ngamwongsatit N, Hui NS, Shimotai Y, Ounjai P, ... Hamamoto H (2026). Tracking Plasmodium Knowlesi Through Fecal Dna for Monitoring Zoonotic Transmission in Wild Macaques Across Southeast and South Asia. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 233(5), e1238-e1243.

Chicago

Wannigama DL, Amarasiri M, Phattharapornjaroen P, Hurst C, Modchang C, Cynthia B, Miyanaga K, et al.. "Tracking Plasmodium Knowlesi Through Fecal Dna for Monitoring Zoonotic Transmission in Wild Macaques Across Southeast and South Asia." Journal of Infectious Diseases 233, no. 5 (2026): e1238-e1243.

Harvard

Wannigama DL et al. (2026) 'Tracking Plasmodium Knowlesi Through Fecal Dna for Monitoring Zoonotic Transmission in Wild Macaques Across Southeast and South Asia', Journal of Infectious Diseases, 233(5), pp. e1238-e1243.

Vancouver

Wannigama DL, Amarasiri M, Phattharapornjaroen P, Hurst C, Modchang C, Cynthia B, et al.. Tracking Plasmodium Knowlesi Through Fecal Dna for Monitoring Zoonotic Transmission in Wild Macaques Across Southeast and South Asia. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2026;233(5):e1238-e1243.

BibTex

@article{ author = {Wannigama DL and Amarasiri M and Phattharapornjaroen P and Hurst C and Modchang C and Cynthia B and Miyanaga K and Cui L and Fernandez S and Melhem NM and Lukin S and Singer AC and Ragupathi NKD and Htun TS and Sei K and Ngamwongsatit N and Hui NS and Shimotai Y and Ounjai P and Kanthawee P and Tacharoenmuang R and Kauba A and Eang C and Romone L and Dharne M and De Araujo JC and Ndatuwong LG and Werawatte WKCP and Chanthasiri T and Zhao J and Mori H and Besa JJV and Kurt O and Kanjanabuch T and Zahraeiramazani AR and Higgins PG and Aoyagi T and Kicic A and Trowsdale S and Hongsing P and Yang X and Wang Y and Khatib A and Sano D and Shibuya K and Abe S and Hamamoto H}, title = {Tracking Plasmodium Knowlesi Through Fecal Dna for Monitoring Zoonotic Transmission in Wild Macaques Across Southeast and South Asia}, journal = {Journal of Infectious Diseases}, volume = {233}, number = {5}, pages = {e1238-e1243}, year = {2026} }

RIS

TY - JOUR
AU - Wannigama DL
AU - Amarasiri M
AU - Phattharapornjaroen P
AU - Hurst C
AU - Modchang C
AU - Cynthia B
AU - Miyanaga K
AU - Cui L
AU - Fernandez S
AU - Melhem NM
AU - Lukin S
AU - Singer AC
AU - Ragupathi NKD
AU - Htun TS
AU - Sei K
AU - Ngamwongsatit N
AU - Hui NS
AU - Shimotai Y
AU - Ounjai P
AU - Kanthawee P
AU - Tacharoenmuang R
AU - Kauba A
AU - Eang C
AU - Romone L
AU - Dharne M
AU - De Araujo JC
AU - Ndatuwong LG
AU - Werawatte WKCP
AU - Chanthasiri T
AU - Zhao J
AU - Mori H
AU - Besa JJV
AU - Kurt O
AU - Kanjanabuch T
AU - Zahraeiramazani AR
AU - Higgins PG
AU - Aoyagi T
AU - Kicic A
AU - Trowsdale S
AU - Hongsing P
AU - Yang X
AU - Wang Y
AU - Khatib A
AU - Sano D
AU - Shibuya K
AU - Abe S
AU - Hamamoto H
TI - Tracking Plasmodium Knowlesi Through Fecal Dna for Monitoring Zoonotic Transmission in Wild Macaques Across Southeast and South Asia
JO - Journal of Infectious Diseases
VL - 233
IS - 5
SP - e1238
EP - e1243
PY - 2026
ER -

Science Communicator Platform

Authors

Abstract