Wyrosdick Heidi M, Gerhold Richard, Su Chunlei, Mignucci-Giannoni Antonio A, Bonde Robert K, Chapman Alycia, Rivera-Pérez Carla I, Martinez Jessica, Miller Debra L
University of Tennessee, Center for Wildlife Health, Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
Dis Aquat Organ. 2017 Dec 19;127(1):65-69. doi: 10.3354/dao03181.
Toxoplasma gondii is a feline protozoan reported to cause morbidity and mortality in manatees and other marine mammals. Given the herbivorous nature of manatees, ingestion of oocysts from contaminated water or seagrass is presumed to be their primary mode of infection. The objectives of this study were to investigate oocyst contamination of seagrass beds in Puerto Rico and determine the seroprevalence of T. gondii in Antillean (Trichechus manatus manatus) and Florida (T. m. latirostris) manatees. Sera or plasma from Antillean (n = 5) and Florida (n = 351) manatees were tested for T. gondii antibodies using the modified agglutination test. No T. gondii DNA was detected via PCR in seagrass samples (n = 33) collected from Puerto Rico. Seroprevalence was 0%, suggesting a lower prevalence of T. gondii in these manatee populations than previously reported. This was the first study to investigate the potential oocyst contamination of the manatee diet, and similar studies are important for understanding the epidemiology of T. gondii in herbivorous marine mammals.
刚地弓形虫是一种猫科原生动物，据报道可导致海牛和其他海洋哺乳动物发病和死亡。鉴于海牛的草食性，推测其主要感染途径是摄入受污染水体或海草中的卵囊。本研究的目的是调查波多黎各海草床的卵囊污染情况，并确定安的列斯海牛（Trichechus manatus manatus）和佛罗里达海牛（T. m. latirostris）中刚地弓形虫的血清阳性率。使用改良凝集试验检测了安的列斯海牛（n = 5）和佛罗里达海牛（n = 351）的血清或血浆中的刚地弓形虫抗体。在从波多黎各采集的海草样本（n = 33）中，通过聚合酶链反应未检测到刚地弓形虫DNA。血清阳性率为0%，表明这些海牛种群中刚地弓形虫的患病率低于先前报道。这是第一项调查海牛食物潜在卵囊污染的研究，类似研究对于了解草食性海洋哺乳动物中刚地弓形虫的流行病学很重要。
