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Title: Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in bats from São Paulo city, Brazil

Author
item CABRAL, ALINE - Universidad De Sao Paulo
item D'AURIA, SANDRA - Labzoo - Centro De Controle De Zoonoses
item CAMARGO, MARIA - Labzoo - Centro De Controle De Zoonoses
item ROSA, ADRIANA - Labzoo - Centro De Controle De Zoonoses
item SODRE, MIRIAM - Labzoo - Centro De Controle De Zoonoses
item GALVAO-DIAS, MARIA - Labzoo - Centro De Controle De Zoonoses
item JORDAO, LUCIANA - Labzoo - Centro De Controle De Zoonoses
item Dubey, Jitender
item GENNARI, SOLANGE - Universidad De Sao Paulo
item PENA, HILDA - Universidad De Sao Paulo

Submitted to: Veterinary Parasitology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/1/2014
Publication Date: 12/1/2014
Publication URL: http://doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2014.10.014
Citation: Cabral, A., D'Auria, S., Camargo, M., Rosa, A., Sodre, M., Galvao-Dias, M., Jordao, L., Dubey, J.P., Gennari, S., Pena, H. 2014. Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in bats from São Paulo city, Brazil. Veterinary Parasitology. 206:3-4.

Interpretive Summary: Toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease caused by a single celled organism, Toxoplasma gondii, continues to be public health problem worldwide. This parasite infects all warm blooded hosts, including humans and bats. Most bats are insectivores, and they play a very important role in crop production by eating insects that harm crops. Lately, massive die offs due a white nose fungal disease has become a big concern worldwide. Toxoplasma infection may induce behavioral changes in bats, heightening the interest in understanding how frequently they are exposed to this parasite. Here, we found that one-third of a large sample of bats (n= 616) in Brazil had antibodies T. gondii, most likely acquired from an environment contaminated oocysts excreted by cats. These sentinels of environmental exposure provide information concerning the extent of human exposure by oocysts contaminating the environment. These results will be useful for parasitologists, epidemiologists, and biologists.

Technical Abstract: Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic zoonosis caused by Toxoplasma gondii with a worldwide distribution. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of IgG anti-T. gondii antibodies in bats from São Paulo city, Brazil. A total of 616 serum samples were collected from 22 species of bats. Anti-T. gondii antibodies were searched using the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT = 1:16) and IgG anti-bat antibodies produced in sheep on samples collected during 2006 to 2011; 32.62% (201/616) of bats had T. gondii antibodies The modified agglutination test (MAT = 1:25) was performed on samples collected during 2010 to 2011;18.61% (35/188) were seropositive. The concordance between IFAT and MAT (serum samples from 2010 to 2011), by Kappa (95% CI) was 0.144, resulting in a low agreement between the techniques. The specificity and sensitivity of MAT and IFAT have not been evaluated for the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in bats. Thus, it was verified that bats are in contact with T. gondii during their lifetime and they are also part of the toxoplasmosis epidemiology.