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PCR Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in European Wild Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) from Portugal
Wildlife plays an important role in the epidemiological cycle of Toxoplasma gondii. The European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) can be a source of infection to wild and domestic hosts, including human beings. Additionally, as an herbivorous animal, the European wild rabbit may also be a sentine...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2020
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7761901/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33291701 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8121926 |
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author | Coelho, Catarina Vieira-Pinto, Madalena Vilares, Anabela Gargaté, Maria João Rodrigues, Manuela Cardoso, Luís Lopes, Ana Patrícia |
author_facet | Coelho, Catarina Vieira-Pinto, Madalena Vilares, Anabela Gargaté, Maria João Rodrigues, Manuela Cardoso, Luís Lopes, Ana Patrícia |
author_sort | Coelho, Catarina |
collection | PubMed |
description | Wildlife plays an important role in the epidemiological cycle of Toxoplasma gondii. The European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) can be a source of infection to wild and domestic hosts, including human beings. Additionally, as an herbivorous animal, the European wild rabbit may also be a sentinel of environmental contamination with T. gondii and, consequently, an indicator of the potential transmission of this parasite. The purpose of the present work was to detect T. gondii DNA in European wild rabbit from central Portugal, as well as the possible implications for public health. Heart and diaphragm samples were obtained from 28 rabbits hunted in central Portugal. Nested PCR separately amplified the 5′ and 3′ ends of the surface antigen 2 (SAG2) gene. T. gondii DNA was detected in 19 out of the 28 sampled animals, resulting in a prevalence of 67.9%. These results show that T. gondii infection occurs in European wild rabbit and therefore may pose a potential risk for humans if consumed as raw or undercooked meat. Measures should be taken in order to prevent infection by this zoonotic parasite and for the conservation of wildlife. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study performed by means of PCR on T. gondii in European wild rabbit meat samples. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-7761901 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2020 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-77619012020-12-26 PCR Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in European Wild Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) from Portugal Coelho, Catarina Vieira-Pinto, Madalena Vilares, Anabela Gargaté, Maria João Rodrigues, Manuela Cardoso, Luís Lopes, Ana Patrícia Microorganisms Communication Wildlife plays an important role in the epidemiological cycle of Toxoplasma gondii. The European wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) can be a source of infection to wild and domestic hosts, including human beings. Additionally, as an herbivorous animal, the European wild rabbit may also be a sentinel of environmental contamination with T. gondii and, consequently, an indicator of the potential transmission of this parasite. The purpose of the present work was to detect T. gondii DNA in European wild rabbit from central Portugal, as well as the possible implications for public health. Heart and diaphragm samples were obtained from 28 rabbits hunted in central Portugal. Nested PCR separately amplified the 5′ and 3′ ends of the surface antigen 2 (SAG2) gene. T. gondii DNA was detected in 19 out of the 28 sampled animals, resulting in a prevalence of 67.9%. These results show that T. gondii infection occurs in European wild rabbit and therefore may pose a potential risk for humans if consumed as raw or undercooked meat. Measures should be taken in order to prevent infection by this zoonotic parasite and for the conservation of wildlife. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study performed by means of PCR on T. gondii in European wild rabbit meat samples. MDPI 2020-12-04 /pmc/articles/PMC7761901/ /pubmed/33291701 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8121926 Text en © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Communication Coelho, Catarina Vieira-Pinto, Madalena Vilares, Anabela Gargaté, Maria João Rodrigues, Manuela Cardoso, Luís Lopes, Ana Patrícia PCR Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in European Wild Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) from Portugal |
title | PCR Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in European Wild Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) from Portugal |
title_full | PCR Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in European Wild Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) from Portugal |
title_fullStr | PCR Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in European Wild Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) from Portugal |
title_full_unstemmed | PCR Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in European Wild Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) from Portugal |
title_short | PCR Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in European Wild Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) from Portugal |
title_sort | pcr detection of toxoplasma gondii in european wild rabbit (oryctolagus cuniculus) from portugal |
topic | Communication |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7761901/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33291701 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8121926 |
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