Abstract
Toxoplasmosis stands out as a global disease that has felines as definitive hosts. In the municipality of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil, two parks are notable for their ecological and social importance. This study aimed to investigate the presence of Toxoplasma gondii in short hair cats, bats and small non-volant mammals in these two ecological reserves. Altogether, biological samples were obtained from 154 mammals, 92 wild animals from both areas and 62 domestic cats of the Parque da Cidade. In total, 22 (53.7%) non-volant wild mammals, 11 (21.5%) bats and 28 (52.8%) cats were positive for IgG anti-T. gondii antibodies using the Modified Agglutination Test (≥ 25). It was possible to detect the presence of T. gondii DNA, by means of a molecular amplification of a B1 gene fragment (155bp), in 92 tissue samples from wild animals, including Didelphis albiventris, Monodelphis domestica, Artibeus lituratus, Carollia perspicillata and Glossophaga soricina. Of the 62 cats examined by the same molecular method, T. gondii DNA could be detected in 4 cats. In this study, it was observed the circulation of T. gondii in wild species and domestic cats, demonstrating the involvement of wild and domestic animals in the cycle of T. gondii.
Highlights
The etiological agent of toxoplasmosis, Toxoplasma gondii, has emerged as one of the most successful parasites
Among the wild animals captured, 18 species of wild mammals were identified, of which three belong to the order Rodentia, eight to the Chiroptera order, four to the Didelphimorphia order, one species belonging to the Cingulata order, one species of the Primates order and one species of the Carnivora order
Biological samples were obtained from 154 mammals, of which 92 were wild animals and 62 were domestic cats, the latter being from the Parque da Cidade
Summary
The etiological agent of toxoplasmosis, Toxoplasma gondii, has emerged as one of the most successful parasites. In Brazil, urban growth has caused the degradation of forested areas for the creation of cities since the colonial period and, in many regions, small islands of vegetation within major urban centers remained preserved, creating a differentiated cycle for T. gondii, with the presence of domestic and wild hosts in abundance (DUBEY et al, 2003; LEHMANN et al, 2003; SILVA et al, 2010; VITALIANO et al, 2010) These forest fragments dramatically suffer the effect of unplanned urbanization, including the introduction of domestic species into the wild ecosystem (SALGADO et al, 2007). This intimate relationship leads to the emergence of diseases for several species of animals and humans, as well as causing ecological imbalance due to predation and disappearance of some wild species (DUBEY et al, 2003; LEHMANN et al, 2003; SILVA et al, 2010)
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