Nowadays, wildlife is one of the most important sources of zoonoses, and it is a major concern for the public health. Nevertheless, little is known about the role of wildlife as a reservoir and source of infectious diseases in the past. South America presents a wide diversity of wildlife. In the south of the continent, Argentina shelters a large diversity of neotropical carnivores. Although the paleoparasitological studies on carnivores have been increasing in southern Argentina, most of the efforts have been focused in a handful of sites located in western Patagonia. In this paper, two coprolites of felid found in Cueva Galpón, an initial late Holocene mortuary site from northeast Patagonia (Argentina), were studied for paleoparasitological purposes. Samples were processed by rehydration, homogenization, filtered and processed by spontaneous sedimentation. The samples were assigned to Puma concolor (puma) or Panthera onca (jaguar). Microscopic observations revealed that both coprolites were positive for parasite remains. High parasite richness was observed. Six nematodes, one cestode and one coccidian morphotypes were reported. This is the first time that Gnathostoma sp. and Spirocerca sp. were recovered from holocenic times from Patagonia. This finding implies that some diseases such as taeniasis, spirocercosis, gnathostomosis, ascariasis and coccidiosis could be present in holocenic wildlife from Patagonia prior to the Spanish colonization and domestic animal introduction. The overall results suggest that felids could have played a role as reservoirs and source of some parasitic species, some of which are zoonotic. Therefore, this animal could have entailed a risk agent for human health in the site.
Coprolites are one of the sources of evidence most commonly used in paleoparasitological studies. However, the zoological origin identification is not always possible. Parasites of the genus Eimeria (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) are obligate protozoan which have evolved to exhibit a great diversity of host range, and present strict host specificity. Usually, the identification of Eimeria spp. can be done by morphological characteristics such as size and shape of the oocysts. Moreover, molecular diagnostic methods such as PCR have proven to be very useful methodologies for an accurate taxonomic identification. In recent years, molecular techniques have started to be applied in paleoparasitological studies. Here, we provide the first integrative approach that combine light microscopic studies and ancient DNA (aDNA) in order to detect and identify Eimeria spp. on artiodactyl coprolites recovered from an archeological context from northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. The main objective is to discuss the advantages of complementing these two approaches as a promising tool to identify the zoological origin of coprolites. Furthermore, we provide paleoparasitological data about the presence of Eimeria spp. in coprolites of South American ungulates. Light microscopic studies allowed the identification of oocysts attributed to Eimeria spp. in 13 of the 40 coprolites. Amplification and sequencing of the aDNA ITS1 detected the presence of Eimeria spp. in 5 of the 10 samples, and allowed the taxonomic identification of these sequences as belonging to Eimeria arloingi. Furthermore, the results obtained from cytochrome b gene (Cytb) analysis confirmed the identity of the host as Capra hircus. Results displayed the presence of coccidiosis in goats from historical times. This study highlights that both techniques are complementary and promotes the use of the identification of Eimeria spp. in ancient samples in order to identify the zoological origin.
The aim of the present study was to examine the parasite fauna present in mountain viscacha Lagidium viscacia (Caviomorpha, Chinchillidae) fecal pellets collected from 'Cueva Peligro', a cave located in Chubut province, Patagonia, Argentina, throughout the last 1200 years. A total of 84 samples were examined for parasites. Each pellet was whole processed: rehydrated, homogenized, sediment and examined using light microscopy. The samples and eggs of parasites present were described, measured and photographed. Thirty-eight samples tested positive for the nematodes Heteroxynema (Cavioxyura) viscaciae Sutton & Hugot, 1989, Helminthoxys effilatus Schuurmans-Stekhoven, 1951 (Oxyurida: Oxyuridae), Trichuris sp. Roederer, 1761 (Trichinellida: Trichuridae) and one anoplocephalid species (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae). This is the first time that H. effilatus is reported from ancient times. Significant differences of parasite occurrences through this temporal period were recorded. Parasitic life cycles and their presence along the studied period are so discussed.
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