Clinical, serological, and parasitological analysis of snakes naturally infected with Cryptosporidium serpentis

Autor(es)

Paiva, Philipp Ricardo S. O. ^{[1, 2]} ; Grego, Kathleen F. ^[2] ; Lima, Valeria M. F. ^[3] ; Nakamura, Alex A. ^[3] ; da Silva, Deuvania C. ^[3] ; Meireles, Marcelo V. ^[3]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med Vet & Zootecnia, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Inst Butantan, Lab Herpetol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Univ Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Fac Med Vet, Aracatuba, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Veterinary Parasitology; v. 198, n. 1-2, p. 54-61, NOV 15 2013.
• Citações Web of Science: 6

Resumo

Infection by Cryptosporidium seipentis is one of the most important diseases in reptiles and is characterized by chronic clinical or subclinical infection and the presence of hypertrophic gastritis, food regurgitation, progressive weight loss, mortality, and intermittent or continuous shedding of oocysts in the feces. The objectives of this study were to standardize an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect antibodies against C. serpentis and to evaluate the clinical, parasitological, and humoral immune response in snakes naturally infected with C. serpentis. Twenty-one snakes naturally infected with C. serpentis and housed at the Butantan Institute, Sao Paulo, Brazil, underwent clinical and parasitological analyses for C. serpentis infection through daily records of clinical signs and a monthly survey of fecal shedding of oocysts using the Kinyoun's acid-fast staining. The serological evaluation was performed monthly by indirect ELISA using crude total antigen from oocysts of C. serpentis to detect anti-C. serpentis antibodies. Clinical symptoms consisted of food regurgitation, inappetence, and progressive weight loss. The parasitological analysis revealed intermittent fecal shedding of a variable number of oocysts in all snakes, with positivity in 85.32% (157/184) of the samples. The indirect ELISA was positive in 68.25% (86/126) of the samples. A humoral immune response was observed in most animals; however, fluctuating antibodies levels, leading to alternating positive and negative results, were observed in most snakes. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 10/05405-0 - Avaliação clínica, sorológica e parasitológica de serpentes naturalmente infectadas com Cryptosporidium serpentis
• Beneficiário: Marcelo Vasconcelos Meireles
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular