Serosurvey for Toxoplasma gondii in arctic foxes and possible sources of infection in the high Arctic of Svalbard
| Autor: | Kjetil Åsbakk, Eva Fuglei, Kjetil Sagerup, Kit M. Kovacs, Erik Ropstad, Audun Stien, Kristin Wear Prestrud, Morten Tryland, Torill Mørk, Antti Oksanen, Geir Wing Gabrielsen, Christian Lydersen, Maarten J.J.E. Loonen |
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| Přispěvatelé: | Arctic and Antarctic studies |
| Rok vydání: | 2007 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Microtus rossiaemeridionalis Rissa tridactyla Branta leucopsis Population Toxoplasma gondii Foxes ECHINOCOCCUS-MULTILOCULARIS Birds Svalbard MARINE MAMMALS Odobenus rosmarus Goose Seroepidemiologic Studies biology.animal parasitic diseases Animals education education.field_of_study Larus hyperboreus General Veterinary biology CONGENITAL TRANSMISSION Ecology Arctic Regions Arvicolinae ALOPEX-LAGOPUS SEROPREVALENCE Svalbard reindeer General Medicine biology.organism_classification Alopex lagopus Rangifer tarandus PREVALENCE NEOSPORA-CANINUM VULPES-VULPES Toxoplasmosis Animal Arctic ANTIBODIES Lagopus Parasitology Female Walruses Larus Toxoplasma geographic locations Reindeer |
| Zdroj: | Veterinary Parasitology, 150(1-2), 6-12 |
| ISSN: | 0304-4017 |
| Popis: | Samples (blood or tissue fluid) from 594 arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus), 390 Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus), 361 sibling voles (Microtus rossiaemeridionalis), 17 walruses (Odobenus rosmarus), 149 barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis), 58 kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), and 27 glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) from Svalbard and nearby waters were assayed for antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii using a direct agglutination test. The proportion of seropositive animals was 43% in arctic foxes, 7% in barnacle geese, and 6% (1 of 17) in walruses. There were no seropositive Svalbard reindeer, sibling voles, glaucous gulls, or kittiwakes. The prevalence in the arctic fox was relatively high compared to previous reports from canid populations. There are no wild felids in Svalbard and domestic cats are prohibited, and the absence of antibodies against T. gondii among the herbivorous Svalbard reindeer and voles indicates that transmission of the parasite by oocysts is not likely to be an important mechanism in the Svalbard ecosystem. Our results suggest that migratory birds, such as the barnacle goose, may be the most important vectors bringing the parasite to Svalbard. In addition to transmission through infected prey and carrion, the age-seroprevalence profile in the fox population suggests that their infection levels are enhanced by vertical transmission. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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