ULTRASOUND-GUIDED PERCUTANEOUS TREATMENT OF HEPATIC HYDATIDOSIS IN TWO RED-SHANKED DOUC LANGURS (PYGATHRIX NEMAEUS)

Hydatid disease caused by Echinococcus ortleppi is a major cause of morbidity and mortality for critically endangered captive langurs in northern Vietnam. The most common sites for hydatid cyst development are the liver and the lungs. Chemotherapy trials with albendazole alone or in combination with praziquantel in these langurs had varying results and in most cases were ineffective. Ultrasound-guided percutaneous aspiration of cystic fluid followed by instillation and re-aspiration of a scolicidal agent (PAIR technique), has gained importance in the treatment of active hepatic cysts in humans and in many cases is preferred over surgical and endoscopic approaches. The PAIR technique was used in two red-shanked douc langurs (Pygathrix nemaeus) for the treatment of unilocular active hepatic cysts. The technique was found to be fairly easy to perform, safe, and effective and should be a useful treatment tool for hepatic hydatidosis in langurs and other nonhuman primate species.