Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in wild small mammals: Seroprevalence, DNA detection and genotyping

• Published in: Veterinary parasitology 2016-06, Vol.223, p.88-90
• Main Authors: Machačová, Tereza, Ajzenberg, Daniel, Žákovská, Alena, Sedlák, Kamil, Bártová, Eva
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Animals, Wild; Coccidiosis - epidemiology; Coccidiosis - parasitology; Coccidiosis - veterinary; Czech Republic; Czech Republic - epidemiology; DNA, Protozoan - isolation & purification; Genotype; Microsatellite Repeats; Neospora - genetics; Neospora - isolation & purification; Neospora caninum; Neosporosis; Rodentia; Rodents; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Shrews; Toxoplasma - genetics; Toxoplasma - isolation & purification; Toxoplasma gondii; Toxoplasmosis; Toxoplasmosis, Animal - epidemiology; Toxoplasmosis, Animal - parasitology
• ISSN: 0304-4017; 1873-2550
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2016.04.018

•There are poor data on T. gondii and N. caninum seroprevalence in wild small mammals.•Antibodies to T. gondii and N. caninum were detected in 2.5% and 0.4% small mammals respectively. It is the first detection of N. caninum antibodies in wild rodents from Europe.•T. gondii was detected by PCR assay in liver of A. flavicollis and A. sylvaticus.•Three T. gondii isolates were genotyped by 15 microsatellite markers in a single multiplex PCR assay and characterized as type II. Generally, rodents and other small mammals are considered as one of the sources of Toxoplasma gondii or Neospora caninum infection for cats and dogs as the definitive hosts of these two parasites, respectively. The aim of the study was to find out the prevalence of these two parasites in wild small mammals from the Czech Republic and to characterize T. gondii isolates by methods of molecular biology. A total of 621 wild small mammals were caught in the Czech Republic during years 2002–2014. Antibodies to T. gondii were detected by latex agglutination test in six (2.5%) of 240 small mammals (in two A. agrarius and four A. flavicollis). Antibodies to N. caninum were detected by commercially available competitive-inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in one A. flavicolis (0.4%). Three of 427 (0.7%) liver samples were positive for T. gondii by PCR while negative for N. caninum. All embryo samples (n=102) were negative for both T. gondii and N. caninum. The three liver samples positive for T. gondii DNA (two from A. flavicollis and one from A. sylvaticus) were genotyped by 15 microsatellite markers and characterized as type II. To our knowledge, this is the first information about genetic characterization of T. gondii isolates in small mammals from Europe and the first detection of N. caninum antibodies in wild rodents from the Czech Republic.