Pneumocystis infection in macaque monkeys: Macaca fuscata fuscata and Macaca fascicularis

Retrospective examination of lungs from 128 monkey necropsies was attempted for Pneumocystis infection using special strains, including toluidine blue-O and Gomori's methenamine silver nitrate. Four Japanese monkeys (7.7%), Macaca fuscata fuscata, and one crab-eating monkey (7.7%), Macaca fascicularis, were found to have Pneumocystis infection. The organism was found in young and infant animals. At the time of death, one infant and two young monkeys were debilitated and/or emaciated. Pneumocystis infection was considered an important lesion which could have caused reduced respiratory function in two of the Japanese monkeys, but constituted only an incidental finding in the others.