[Characteristics of the Shigella flexneri strains isolated from Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata)]

Shigella flexneri was isolated from 11 of 95 Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata) purchased by the Animal Research Center, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, during the period from 1988 through 1990. The serotypes of the isolates were 4a (5 isolates), 2a (4 isolates), 2b (1 isolate), and varY (1 isolate). Although some of the strains in the same serotypes were similar, others were different in their antibiotic susceptibility patterns or the plasmid profiles. Our results suggested that various types of Shigella flexneri had infected the Japanese monkeys. However, the source(s) and the routes of infection were unclear. Dysentery in the Japanese monkey has not yet been reported. So, to our knowledge, this may be the first report of dysentery among Japanese monkeys.