Toxoplasma gondii in cetaceans of Brazil: a histopathological and immunohistochemical survey

Bibliographic Details
Title: Toxoplasma gondii in cetaceans of Brazil: a histopathological and immunohistochemical survey
Authors: Costa-Silva, Samira, Sacristán, Carlos, Gonzales-Viera, Omar, Díaz-Delgado, Josué, Sánchez-Sarmiento, Angélica María, Marigo, Juliana, Groch, Kátia Regina, Carvalho, Vitor Luz, Ewbank, Ana Carolina, Colosio, Adriana Castaldo, Marcondes, Milton César Calzavara, Meirelles, Ana Carolina Oliveira de, Bertozzi, Carolina P., Lailson-Brito, José, Azevedo, Alexandre de Freitas, Ruoppolo, Valéria, Oliveira, Larissa, Ott, Paulo Henrique, Catão-Dias, José Luiz
Source: Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária. July 2019 28(3)
Publisher Information: Colégio Brasileiro de Parasitologia Veterinária, 2019.
Publication Year: 2019
Subject Terms: Toxoplasmosis, mortality, stranding, South America, protozoan infection, marine mammal
More Details: Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. In cetaceans, T. gondii infection is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Despite the worldwide range and broad cetacean host record of T. gondii infection, there is limited information on toxoplasmosis in cetaceans from the Southern hemisphere. We investigated the occurrence of T. gondii by histopathology and immunohistochemistry in tissue samples of 185 animals comprising 20 different cetacean species from Brazil. Three out of 185 (1.6%) animals presented T. gondii-associated lesions: a captive killer whale Orcinus orca, a free-ranging common bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus and a free-ranging Guiana dolphin Sotalia guianensis. The main lesions observed in these animals were necrotizing hepatitis, adrenalitis and lymphadenitis associated with protozoal cysts or extracellular tachyzoites presenting immunolabeling with anti-T. gondii antibodies. This study widens the spectrum of species and the geographic range of this agent in Brazil, and provides the first reports of T. gondii infection in a captive killer whale and in a free-ranging common bottlenose dolphin in South America.
Document Type: article
File Description: text/html
Language: English
ISSN: 1984-2961
DOI: 10.1590/s1984-29612019051
Access URL: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1984-29612019000300395
Rights: info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Accession Number: edssci.S1984.29612019000300395
Database: SciELO
More Details
ISSN:19842961
DOI:10.1590/s1984-29612019051
Published in:Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária
Language:English