Molecular Survey of in Wild Mammals of Southern Italy

Overview

Journal Pathogens

Date 2023 Mar 29

PMID 36986393

Authors

Hiba Dakroub

Giovanni Sgroi

Nicola DAlessio

Danilo Russo

Francesco Serra

Vincenzo Veneziano

Simona Rea

Alessia Pucciarelli

Maria Gabriella Lucibelli

Esterina De Carlo

Giovanna Fusco

Maria Grazia Amoroso

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Systematic wildlife surveillance is important to aid the prevention of zoonotic infections that jeopardize human health and undermine biodiversity. is an opportunistic zoonotic protozoan that can infect all endothermic vertebrates, causing severe disease in immunocompromised humans and cases of congenital transmission. Humans can be infected by ingestion of raw meat containing bradyzoites or water contaminated by oocysts. In our study, we assessed the potential circulation of in wild mammals by performing surveillance in the Campania region (southern Italy) and surveyed its presence from 2020 to 2022 within the framework of the Regional Plans for Wildlife Surveillance. In detail, 211 individuals belonging to five wild mammals (wolf, fox, wild boar, badger, and roe deer) underwent necropsy and the organs were analyzed by real-time PCR for the detection of the parasite. was found in 21.8% (46/211) of the subjects examined. No statistically significant differences were noticed between the prevalence and the host's trophic level or age, rejecting the hypotheses that will have a higher prevalence in top predators and adult individuals, respectively. Our work emphasized the high circulation of in wildlife and remarked on the critical role of anthropized areas where domestic cats and wildlife may come into contact, urging a systematic surveillance.

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