Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of all co-authors, I am pleased to announce the publication of our article about Toxoplasmosis and
Sarcocystis spp. infection in wild pinnipeds of the Brazilian coast.
Reisfeld L, Sacristán C, Ferreira Machado E, Sánchez-Sarmiento AM and others (2019)
Toxoplasmosis and Sarcocystis spp. infection in wild pinnipeds of the Brazilian coast. Dis Aquat Org 136:235-241.
https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03410
In this study the presence of T. gondii and Sarcocystis spp. was surveyed in 51 stranded pinnipeds from Brazil. Immunohistochemical
and molecular assays were employed in those cases compatible with Sarcocystidae infection.
T. gondii
cysts were detected in the central nervous system and heart of a South American fur seal (Arctocephalus
australis), associated with meningoencephalitis, myocarditis and endocarditis, and subsequently confirmed by immunohistochemistry.
Four additional specimens - two Subantarctic fur seals (A.
tropicalis), one Antarctic fur seal (A.
gazella) and another South American fur seal - presented intrasarcoplasmic cysts
compatible
with Sarcocystis
spp. (all negative to Sarcocystis neurona
immunohistochemistry) in muscle
samples, without associated inflammatory response. The
B1 gene was amplified in the five pinnipeds infected by Sarcocystidae protozoans. To our knowledge, this is the first report of toxoplasmosis
in wild South American pinnipeds and of Sarcocystis
spp. in South American and Subantarctic fur seals.
Laboratory of Wildlife Comparative Pathology - LAPCOM
School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences - FMVZ
University of São Paulo (Brazil)