title: Natural Infection of Wild Canids (Cerdocyon thous and Lycalopex gymnocercus) with the Intraendothelial Piroplasm Rangelia vitalii in Southern Brazil.
abstract: Rangelia vitalii is a piroplasm that infects canines, causing lesions typical of a hemolytic disorder. Two wild canids, a crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) and a Pampas fox (Lycalopex gymnocercus), were presented for necropsy in Setor de Patologia Veterinária at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. On gross examination, both animals had pale mucosae and moderate tick infestation (Amblyomma aureolatum). There was severe splenomegaly, and the liver had a diffusely orange-reddish lobular pattern. The mesenteric lymph nodes were brownish and slightly enlarged. Structures compatible with R. vitalii were observed in the cytoplasm of endothelial cells in the liver, stomach, heart, kidney, lungs, lymph nodes, and bladder. The agent was characterized by PCR and genetic sequencing of liver samples and ticks. We show that parasitism with R. vitalii follows an epidemiologic cycle in which wild canids act as reservoirs.
authors.affiliation: 1  Setor de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 91540-000, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fredo
authors.affiliation: 1  Setor de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 91540-000, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Matheus V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Bianchi
authors.affiliation: 1  Setor de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 91540-000, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Caroline P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: De Andrade
authors.affiliation: 1  Setor de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 91540-000, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Suyene O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: De Souza
authors.affiliation: 1  Setor de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 91540-000, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ronaldo V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Leite-Filho
authors.affiliation: 1  Setor de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 91540-000, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcele B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Bandinelli
authors.affiliation: 2  Centro de Estudos Costeiros, Limnológicos e Marinhos, Instituto de Biociências, Imbé, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Derek B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Amorim
authors.affiliation: 1  Setor de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 91540-000, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Driemeier
authors.affiliation: 1  Setor de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, CEP 91540-000, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sonne
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D046028:Canidae; D005260:Female; D016792:Piroplasmida / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011529:Protozoan Infections, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*
keywords: Canine; PCR; histology; rangeliosis; ticks