Survey of Toxoplasma gondii in Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magallanicus) in the State of Espírito Santo

• Grant number: 13/25303-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2014
• End date: August 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Solange Maria Gennari
• Grantee: Igor da Cunha Lima Acosta
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligatory intracellular parasite, with cosmopolitan distribution, capable of infecting a wide variety of mammals and birds, including the man, featuring their zoonotic potential. Studies on the occurrence of serological antibodies to T. gondii in birds in Brazil have already been performed in: ostrich (EMU), in birds of the Cracidae family and passerines. Few data are available in the literature about what is the genetic profile of T. gondii stock in wildlife in Brazil and in South America, so there is a need for more studies on genotypic profile of T. gondii isolates from wild animals. Penguins belong to Penguin and the family Spheniscidae are sea birds that live in colonies inhabit temperate waters abundant in Atlantic and its global population and estimated at 1,300,000 breeding pairs. Despite this, the two largest colonies of Argentina come passing by marked decline in recent decades. Since 2006, the amount of penguins that arrive on the coast of Espirito Santo has increased significantly. The penguins to arrive in Patagonia until the Espirito Santo travel a distance of 3.5 thousand kilometers. Little is known about the infection of T. gondii in penguins, existing only one study with Immunohistochemistry in Blue Penguin (Eudyptula minor) and another study on Galapagos Island related to penguins of the Galapagos Penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) with anti-T gondii antibodies detection. In Espirito Santo, the Magellanic penguins are found in virtually every coastline. In 2012, were recorded by the Institute of research and rehabilitation of marine animals (IPRAM) a large amount of stranding in the municipalities of Aracruz, Linhares, Vila Velha, Guarapari and Anchieta. Therefore, this project aims to meet the epidemiological profile of toxoplasmosis in Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magallanicus), through biological and genotypic characterization of T. gondii from tissue samples of naturally infected individuals, died after stranding on beaches of Espirito Santo.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ACOSTA, IGOR CUNHA LIMA; SOARES, RODRIGO MARTINS; PEREIRA MAYORGA, LUIS FELIPE SILVA; ALVES, BRUNE FARIAS; SOARES, HERBERT SOUSA; GENNARI, SOLANGE MARIA. Occurrence of tissue cyst forming coccidia in Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) rescued on the coast of Brazil. PLoS One, v. 13, n. 12, DEC 18 2018. (13/25303-6)

ACOSTA, I. C. L.; SOUZA-FILHO, A. F.; MUNOZ-LEAL, S.; SOARES, H. S.; HEINEMANN, M. B.; MORENO, L.; GONZALEZ-ACUNA, D.; GENNARI, S. M.. Evaluation of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii and Leptospira spp. in Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) on Magdalena Island, Chile. VETERINARY PARASITOLOGY- REGIONAL STUDIES AND REPORTS, v. 16, p. 4-pg., 2019-04-01. (13/25303-6)

MURIOZ-LEAL, SEBASTIAN; CLEMES, YARA S.; LOPES, MARCOS G.; ACOSTA, IGOR C. L.; SERPA, MARIA CAROLINA A.; MAYORGA, LUIS FELIPE S. P.; GENNARI, SOLANGE M.; GONZALEZ-ACUNA, DANIEL; LABRUNA, MARCELO B.. Novel Ehrlichia sp. detected in Magellanic penguins (Sphenicus magellanicus) and in the seabird tick Ixodes uriae from Magdalena Island, southern Chile. TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES, v. 10, n. 6, OCT 2019. (13/25303-6)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

ACOSTA, Igor da Cunha Lima. Resarch of coccidia of the Sarcocystidae family in magellan penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) stranded in the brazilian coast. 2017. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ/SBD) São Paulo.