The team setting up a macaque trap.
KOTA KINABALU: Wildlife researchers are hoping to learn more about zoonotic diseases following a macaque sampling operation conducted in Tawau.
This exercise, held for the second time, involves the Sabah Wildlife Department’s Wildlife Rescue Unit (WRU) with the collaboration between the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) saw 15 new samplings collected.
The collaboration, which was held from Feb 3 to Feb 16, first took place in October last year, where 10 macaques were captured back then, said DGFC’s Wildlife Veterinarian, Dr. Tarmizi Reza in a WRU website release.
He said as part of the operation, WRU played a vital role in setting up net traps in macaque hotspots, ensuring regular monitoring and maintenance of the traps for effectiveness, and assisting in safely handling the primates for sampling.
“The success of the captures would not have been possible without an excellent team who contributed to the successful collection of samples from 25 macaques, with 10 captured in October 2024 and 15 earlier this month, offering valuable insights for the research,” he added.
Dr Tamizi said with DGFC's expertise in wildlife research and NUS's renowned research capabilities across multiple fields, the aim was to study the socio-ecological dynamics of infectious diseases carried by macaques and investigate how their interactions with humans and the environment could impact the transmission of zoonotic diseases.
Dr. Kimberly Fornace, Associate Professor and Head of the Climate, Environment, and Health Programme at NUS said by studying the interactions between macaques, humans, and their environments, researchers can improve understanding of the risks of zoonotic diseases.
This includes monkey malaria, she said, adding that such studies provide the basis to develop new strategies for disease prevention and control.
“These multidisciplinary research collaborations are essential for protecting both human and ecosystem health,” she noted.
Dr Kimberly said this work is part of a larger project to understand how malaria spreads from monkeys to mosquitoes.
“We are trying to understand what places have the highest risks. We usually find that areas near the edges of the forest have the highest risks,” she said.
“We think the forest edges are most important for risk because this is where people, monkeys and the mosquitoes that transmit malaria from monkeys to people are in contact,” she added.
Dr Kimberly said from past studies, they recorded some cases in humans in Kalabakan as well as other areas in Sabah.
Fortunately, Monkey malaria is treatable in people, she said, adding that it can however be fatal if not treated on time.
Asked if there are new cases detected from the new samplings collected, she said they were still analysing the results, but there have been human cases in the past year.
“These types of research activities are really important for better understanding risk,” she stressed.
Another project leader Dr Milena Salgado Lynn said the laboratory work is being conducted this week, and at the moment, DGFC personnel are doing DNA extractions and PCRs to detect simian malaria.
SWD wildlife veterinarian Dr. Rosa Sipangkui expressed their gratitude to be part of this important work, stating that it allowed them to contribute significantly to wildlife health research, supporting both conservation and public health efforts.
She said the SWD has been actively involved in zoonotic disease research for several years, and this project is one of its many initiatives.
