Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate apicomplexan zoonotic parasite that infects humans and other animals and is responsible for toxoplasmosis. This parasite causes one of the most common parasitic infections in humans worldwide. Toxoplasmosis meets the requirements for a One Health Disease due to its ability to affect the health of human beings as well as domestic and free ranging animals. Integrating human, domestic animal, and wildlife data could better assess the risk and devise methods of control. A first step of such an approach would be the knowledge of the prevalence of parasitosis in humans and animals in selected areas. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the occurrence of Toxoplasma infection in 216 free ranging birds belonging to different genera/species by serology and molecular techniques. Twenty-five out of 216 animals (11.6%) were positive to the immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) with antibody titers ranging from 1/20 to 1/320, and 19 of them (8.8%) also showed a positive PCR for Toxoplasma DNA. The results confirmed the widespread occurrence of Toxoplasma infection in wild birds and serological data were corroborated by molecular results in birds that also had low antibody titers. The knowledge of the wide occurrence of the parasite in game and wild birds should enhance the accurate estimation of the risks in handling, managing, and eating these species with regard to domestic carnivores as well as the impact of viscera and offal in the environment.
The role of avian species in the Neospora caninum life cycle has not been completely elucidated, and epidemiological data from Europe are scant. The aim of the present report was to evaluate the presence of N. caninum DNA in the tissues of 302 birds belonging to different avian species, along with IFAT titers. Forty-two out of the 302 birds (13.9%) showed low serological titers (1/50 and 1/100) against N. caninum. These data, positive for 31 animals (10.3%), were corroborated by PCR. Twenty-two hearts and eighteen brains scored positive, while nine subjects resulted had parasite DNA both in their hearts and brains. Serological data showed significantly higher results in waterfowl in respect to non-waterfowl avian species. This finding indicates a higher exposure of water birds to the parasite. These avian species, in fact, which feed directly from soil and/or water, are prone to ingest oocysts excreted by final canid hosts. The present study adds information to the state of art of N. caninum epidemiology in Italy, even if more investigations using bio-assays are needed to allow for a serological/parasitological follow-up to evaluate the real impact of the avian species in maintaining the parasite in main reservoirs.
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