Hepatozoon spp. (Hepatozoidae) prevalence in snakes: Morphological, morphometrical and molecular characterization in Crotalus durissus terrificus (Viperidae) naturally infected

Abstract

Prevalence of Hepatozoon spp. infection (Apicomplex, Hepatozoidae) in recently captured Brazilian snakes. Members of the genus Hepatozoon are the most common intracellular protozoa found in snakes. Since studies about these parasites are very scarce and the importance of this infection in nature and in captivity is a concerning problem, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Hepatozoon spp. infection in snakes from Botucatu region of São Paulo State, Brazil. We investigated 906 recently captured snakes donated to the Center for the Study of Venoms and Venomous Animals (CEVAP) at São Paulo State University (UNESP). Of these animals, 722 (79.7%) were venomous and 184 (20.3%) non-venomous. The more common venomous species were Crotalus durissus (n = 556), Bothrops jararaca (n = 87), and Bothrops pauloensis (Bothrops neuwiedii pauloensis) (n = 47), and non-venomous were Oxyrhopus guibei (n = 49), Boa constrictor amarali (n = 42) and Waglerophis merremi (n = 16). Blood smears were made from caudal vein blood samples. Hepatozoon spp. infection was detected in 125 snakes (13.8%). Infection prevalence was respectively 15.1% and 8.7% in venomous and non-venomous snakes. The highest infection rates were: 21.8% in B. jararaca, 19.1% in B. constrictor amarali and 15.8% in C. durissus. Highest infection rates for Hepatozoon spp. were found at Conchas, Itatinga and Pardinho, respectively 47.6%, 26.7%, and 17.1%.

Vector-borne zoonotic blood parasites in wildlife from Ecuador: A report and systematic review

“…Hepatozoon spp. [3,34,[37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] Caiman crocodilus, Boa constrictor Hepatozoon caimani [45,46] Caiman crocodilus Hepatozoon fusifex [47] Boa constrictor Hepatozoon terzii [48] Boa constrictor Hepatozoon cuestensi [49] Boa constrictor Mycoplasma spp. [26,50] Puma concolor, Odocoileus virginianus Mycoplasma haemocanis [28] Nasua nasua Mycoplasma haemofelis [23,25,[32][33]51] Nasua nasua, Pantera onca, Puma concolor, Leopardus tigrinus Mycoplasma haemocanis/Mycoplasma haemofelis [28,32] Leopardus pardalis Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis [23,32,51] Nasua nasua, Pantera onca, Leopardus pardalis Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum [23,25,26,[29][30][31][32] Pantera onca, Puma concolor, Leopardus tigrinus, Leopardus pardalis Candidatus Mycoplasma haemomacaque [27] Sapajus apella Candidatus Mycoplasma kahaneii [27,30] Saimiri sciureus Trypanosoma leeuwenhoek [52] Choloepus hoffmanni Trypanosoma rangeli [53,54] Choloepus hoffmanni Dirofilaria repens [55] Nasua nasua Dirofilaria immitis…”

“…2)[3,23,[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56]. Mycoplasma spp.…”