Pulmonary Acariasis: A Scanning Electron Microscope Study of Lung Mites in the Rhesus Monkey

Infestation by the mite Pneumonyssus simicola causes pulmonary acariasis in several simian primate species, particularly the rhesus monkey, Macaca mulatta. These lung mites, common in Old World monkeys captured in the wild, are infrequently encountered in monkeys born and raised in captivity. The mite infestation is usually asymptomatic and clinically not detectable. Since the lesions caused by the mites may complicate experiments in pulmonary research and make interpretations of results difficult, studies were made to characterize the lung mites and lesions to minimize this problem.Lungs from four Macaca mulatta were fixed by perfusion via the airways at 30 cm of water pressure with cacodylate-buffered formaldehyde-glutaraldehyde.