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Gastrointestinal Parasites Were Detected in 77% of Rhesus Macaque Faecal Samples at Two Kathmandu Sites

Rhesus macaque at Swayambhunath in Kathmandu, Nepal
Research · Disease, parasites & microbiology

At two heavily visited religious sites in Kathmandu, Nepal, gastrointestinal parasites were detected in 81 of 105 fresh faecal samples from free-ranging rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). The samples came from Pashupatinath Temple and Swayambhunath Stupa, where macaques and people share the same urban spaces.

Researchers collected 45 samples at Pashupatinath and 60 at Swayambhunath during July and August 2024. They followed separate defecation events and moved between different groups to reduce the chance of sampling the same animal repeatedly, but the survey was still opportunistic and non-invasive. The reported 77.1% therefore describes the samples examined rather than a complete census of individual macaques.

Nine parasite genera were detected

Microscopic examination identified four protozoan and five helminth genera. Entamoeba was most frequent, occurring in 37.1% of all samples, followed by strongyle-type eggs at 25.7% and Strongyloides at 20.0%.

Multiple parasites in the same sample were common. Two parasite genera were detected together in 41.0% of all samples, while 7.6% contained three genera. Overall positivity was very similar at the two sites: 78.3% at Swayambhunath and 75.6% at Pashupatinath, and the analysis did not support a clear difference between them.

Zoonotic potential does not prove cross-species transmission

Eight of the nine detected genera include species known to have zoonotic potential. However, the study identified most parasites only from their microscopic appearance. It could therefore not determine exactly which species or strains were present, nor show that parasites had passed between macaques and people.

The authors interpret the findings as evidence of substantial environmental contamination and shared exposure risk at crowded human–macaque interfaces. They recommend improved sanitation, public awareness and continued monitoring within a One Health framework, which treats human, animal and environmental health as interconnected, while calling for molecular methods to resolve the parasites more precisely.

Sources and image credit

  1. Khadka, Y., Dahal, A., Adhikari, S., Adhikari, A., Sigdel, A., & Pathak, C. R. (2026). Gastrointestinal Parasites of Free-Ranging Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta) in Kathmandu: A One Health Perspective on Shared Environmental Risks. Veterinary Medicine and Science, 12(4), e71070. https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.71070Primary open-access research article first published 8 July 2026. Among 105 fresh faecal samples from free-ranging rhesus macaques at Pashupatinath Temple and Swayambhunath Stupa, 77.1% contained at least one gastrointestinal parasite. Nine genera were identified; Entamoeba sp. was most frequent (37.1%), followed by Strongyle-type eggs (25.7%) and Strongyloides sp. (20.0%). Double infections occurred in 41.0% of all samples. Morphological diagnostics could not confirm active cross-species transmission or exact zoonotic species.

Image: Nabin K. Sapkota / Wikimedia Commons — live rhesus macaque at Swayambhunath Stupa, one of the two study sites; Wikimedia Commons Quality Image; not an identified sampled individual · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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