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J. Venom. Anim. Toxins incl. Trop. Dis.

V.20, 2014.

Short communication - ISSN 1678-9199.

 

Detection of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in wild animals in Brazil

 
Rodrigo Costa da Silva 1 , Gustavo Puglia Machado1, Tatiane Morosini de Andrade Cruvinel2, Ciro Alexandre Cruvinel3, Helio Langoni1

1Departamento de Higiene Veterinária e Saúde Pública, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ), Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Distrito de Rubião Júnior, s/n, Botucatu, SP CEP 18618-970, Brasil

2Veterinary Hospital, University Center of Rio Preto (UNiRP), São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil

3Veterinary Consultant, Bady Bassit, São Paulo, Brazil

ABSTRACT

Background

Toxoplasmosis is a worldwide zoonosis caused by an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite,Toxoplasma gondii, that affects all warm-blooded animals, including wild animals. The increased number of cases of parasitic infections is mainly due to the destruction of environmental conservation areas, which is driving wild animals out of their habitats and towards urban areas. In this study, the occurrence of T. gondii infection was investigated by the modified agglutination test (MAT) in 26 different species of run over and injured wild animals that were treated at a Brazilian university veterinary hospital, from June 2007 to August 2008.

Findings

Of the studied animals, six (23.1%; CI95% 11.1-42.2%) had T. gondii antibodies, with titers equal to 10 (4; 66.7%) and 40 (2; 33.3%). The species Pseudalopex vetulus, Cerdocyon thous, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris and Tapyrus terrestris had titers of 10, while Alouatta caraya and Puma concolor had titers of 40. There was no significant association regarding age, gender or purpose of care (p > 0.05).

Conclusions

Carnivorous, herbivorous and omnivorous wild animals are potential sentinels of human toxoplasmosis, especially when wild felids are present, maintaining the environmental contamination.

 

Key words: Toxoplasma gondii; Natural infection; Antibodies; Wild animals; MAT

 

Ethics committee approval

The present study was approved by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), license 218/2004-CGFAU/LIC, process 02027.002705/2000-05.

 

Received: May 12, 2014; Revised: August 29, 2014; Accepted: September 9, 2014

 

Corresponding author: Helio Langoni hlangoni@fmvz.unesp.br

 

Competing interests

The authors declare that there are no competing interests.

 

Authors’ contributions

TMAC and CAC conceived the study. TMAC, CAC and GPM participated in blood sampling and built the database. RCS and GPM made the serological tests. RCS performed the statistical analysis. RCS, GPM and HL participated in data interpretation. The manuscript was written by RCS, reviewed and edited by HL. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.