Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Alpine Red Deer (Cervuselaphus): Its Spread and Effects on Fertility: e0138472

In contrast to the depth of knowledge on the pathological effects of parasitism in domestic animals, the impact of the vast majority of parasites on wildlife hosts is poorly understood and, besides, information from domestics is rarely usable to disclose the parasites' impact on free-ranging po...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2015-09, Vol.10 (9)
Main Authors: menti, Nicoletta, Trogu, Tiziana, Pedrotti, Luca, Gaffuri, Alessandra, Lanfranchi, Paolo, Ferrari, Nicola
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Toxoplasma gondii
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Summary:In contrast to the depth of knowledge on the pathological effects of parasitism in domestic animals, the impact of the vast majority of parasites on wildlife hosts is poorly understood and, besides, information from domestics is rarely usable to disclose the parasites' impact on free-ranging populations' dynamics. Here we use Toxoplasmosis as a study model since, until now, the infection process and the protozoan's effects in natural conditions has received little attention. We analysed 81 sera from red deer (Cervuselaphus) sampled in Italian Alps and through generalized linear models we evaluated (1) the epidemiological factors influencing T. gondii infection dynamics; (2) its impact on female fertility. High seroprevalence of T. gondii infection was recorded in yearling (1 year-old; prevalence = 52.4%) and adult (>2 year-old; prevalence = 51.3%) red deer, while calves (
ISSN:1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0138472