Geographical distribution of the red howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus) and yellow fever in Colombia

Abstract

Introduction: Colombia is a country with an important diversity of non-human primates, of which the red howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus) stands out because of its distribution and the role it plays in the occurrence of yellow fever. Objective: To describe the geographic co-occurrence of Alouatta seniculus and the reported presence of yellow fever. Materials and methods: We conducted a descriptive study. The reported presence of yellow fever in Colombia was obtained from the reports and bulletins issued by the Instituto Nacional de Salud, and the study by Segura, et al. (2013). The occurrence of A. seniculus was determined based on the data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the Colombian Biodiversity Information System. A map of the occurrence was developed using the DIVA-GIS program, and the ecological niche model under current conditions was created with the Maxent program. Results: The departments with the highest occurrence of A. seniculus were Antioquia, Meta and Casanare; 69.5% of the departments with reported history of yellow fever had co-occurrence with A. seniculus. The ecological niche model showed that Antioquia, Bolívar, La Guajira, Magdalena, Meta, Santander, Norte de Santander and Vichada had geographical portions with a probability rate nearing to 0.9 (90%). Conclusions: In 69.5% of the departments with a history of yellow fever there was co-occurrence with A. seniculus, which is relevant because non-human primates play a well-known role as natural reservoirs of the virus, and they might contribute to the occurrence of the yellow fever, which makes them very useful as sentinels.