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Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in seabirds from Abrolhos Archipelago, Brazil.

Authors :
Gennari SM
Niemeyer C
Soares HS
Musso CM
Siqueira GC
Catão-Dias JL
Dias RA
Dubey JP
Source :
Veterinary parasitology [Vet Parasitol] 2016 Aug 15; Vol. 226, pp. 50-2. Date of Electronic Publication: 2016 Jun 15.
Publication Year :
2016

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is a coccidian parasite that infects almost all warm-blooded animals, including birds. Abrolhos is an archipelago of five islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean, 56 nautical kilometers from the south coast of the state of Bahia, northeastern Brazil. Part of this archipelago is a National Marine Park, which is a conservation area protected by the Brazilian government. The objective of this study was to determine the occurrence of T. gondii antibodies in sera of seabird's species Sula spp. and Phaeton spp. from breeding colonies located in the Islands of Santa Bárbara and Redonda, Abrolhos's archipelago. Sera were tested by modified agglutination test, first screened at 1:5 dilution (cut-off point) and the positive samples were titrated at a two-fold serial dilution. Serum samples were obtained from 69 birds of four species: Sula dactylatra (23 birds), Sula leucogaster (19 birds), Phaeton aethereus (25 birds) and Phaeton lepturus (2 birds). Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 24 (34.8%) of 69 seabirds with titers that ranged from 5 to 640. Occurrence value in S. dactylatra was 34.8% (8/23), in S. leucogaster was 47.4% (9/19), in P. aethereus was 28% (7/25) and the 2 P. lepturus were negative. This is the first description of T. gondii antibodies in free ranging seabirds of the orders Suliformes and Phaethontiformes.<br /> (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1873-2550
Volume :
226
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Veterinary parasitology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
27514883
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2016.06.016