Miller D S, Mitchel G F, Biggs B, McCracken H, Myroniuk P, Hewish M
University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706, USA.
J Wildl Dis. 2000 Apr;36(2):213-8. doi: 10.7589/0090-3558-36.2.213.
Toxoplasmosis is considered a severe health risk for many marsupial species. The mainland Australian population of bandicoot is endangered. Therefore, a preliminary serosurvey was conducted to evaluate exposure to Toxoplasma gondii in 57 captive eastern barred bandicoot and to estimate the possible impact of Toxoplasma on recovering populations. Five (9%) bandicoot were classified as seropositive using a modified agglutination test. Nineteen additional bandicoot (33%) were classified as serosuspect using a direct agglutination test. No bandicoot showed signs of clinical disease. Seropositive titers were IgG associated, suggesting that infections were chronic and latent. Serostatus was not associated with either sex or being wild-caught, although each seropositive bandicoot was wild-caught. Seropositive animals ranged from 1.25- to 2.5-yr-old. Computer simulations using Vortex 5.1, based on the proportion of seropositive and seronegative bandicoot in this study, indicate that mortalities from T. gondii should have little impact upon captive populations. However, the potential impact of toxoplasmosis on recovery efforts for wild, mainland bandicoot populations is not clear.
弓形虫病被认为对许多有袋类物种构成严重的健康风险。澳大利亚大陆的袋狸种群濒临灭绝。因此，开展了一项初步血清学调查，以评估57只圈养东部袋狸对刚地弓形虫的暴露情况，并估计弓形虫对其种群恢复可能产生的影响。使用改良凝集试验，5只（9%）袋狸被判定为血清阳性。另外19只（33%）袋狸使用直接凝集试验被判定为疑似血清阳性。没有袋狸表现出临床疾病症状。血清阳性滴度与IgG相关，表明感染为慢性和潜伏性。血清状态与性别或是否为野生捕获均无关，不过每只血清阳性袋狸均为野生捕获。血清阳性动物年龄在1.25至2.5岁之间。基于本研究中血清阳性和血清阴性袋狸的比例，使用Vortex 5.1进行的计算机模拟表明，弓形虫导致的死亡对圈养种群影响不大。然而，弓形虫病对野生大陆袋狸种群恢复工作的潜在影响尚不清楚。
