Disseminated Coccidioidomycosis in a Cynomolgus Monkey (Macaca fascicularis)

Disseminated coccidioidomycosis was determined to be the cause of impaired ambulation in a 5-year, 10-month-old male cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis). The primary infection was considered to be from aerosol exposure. The diagnosis was based on clinical signs, gross lesions, histopathology, and periodic acid-Schiff special stains on collected tissues. Significant light microscopic findings included pyogranulomatous pneumonia, thoracolumbar vertebral osteomyelitis, and tracheobronchial lymphadenitis with fungal spherules. Infection with Coccidioides sp. was based on the presence of light microscopic examination of tissues and the presence of characteristic features of fungal spherules, consistent with those described previously for Coccidioides spp. To our knowledge, this is the first report of naturally acquired disseminated coccidioidomycosis in a presumably immunocompetent colony cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis).