title: Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in seabirds from Abrolhos Archipelago, Brazil.
abstract: Toxoplasma gondii is a coccidian parasite that infects almost all warm-blooded animals, including birds. Abrolhos is an archipelago of five islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean, 56 nautical kilometers from the south coast of the state of Bahia, northeastern Brazil. Part of this archipelago is a National Marine Park, which is a conservation area protected by the Brazilian government. The objective of this study was to determine the occurrence of T. gondii antibodies in sera of seabird's species Sula spp. and Phaeton spp. from breeding colonies located in the Islands of Santa Bárbara and Redonda, Abrolhos's archipelago. Sera were tested by modified agglutination test, first screened at 1:5 dilution (cut-off point) and the positive samples were titrated at a two-fold serial dilution. Serum samples were obtained from 69 birds of four species: Sula dactylatra (23 birds), Sula leucogaster (19 birds), Phaeton aethereus (25 birds) and Phaeton lepturus (2 birds). Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 24 (34.8%) of 69 seabirds with titers that ranged from 5 to 640. Occurrence value in S. dactylatra was 34.8% (8/23), in S. leucogaster was 47.4% (9/19), in P. aethereus was 28% (7/25) and the 2 P. lepturus were negative. This is the first description of T. gondii antibodies in free ranging seabirds of the orders Suliformes and Phaethontiformes.
authors: Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FMVZ), University of São Paulo (USP), Av. Prof. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP CEP 05508-270, Brazil, Brazil. Electronic address: sgennari@usp.br.
authors: Solange M
authors: SM
authors: Gennari
authors: Department of Pathology, FMVZ-USP, Av. Prof. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP CEP 05508-270, Brazil.
authors: Claudia
authors: C
authors: Niemeyer
authors: Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FMVZ), University of São Paulo (USP), Av. Prof. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP CEP 05508-270, Brazil, Brazil.
authors: Herbert S
authors: HS
authors: Soares
authors: Avidepa-Associação Vila Velhense de Proteção Ambiental, Vila Velha, ES, Brazil.
authors: Cesar M
authors: CM
authors: Musso
authors: Avidepa-Associação Vila Velhense de Proteção Ambiental, Vila Velha, ES, Brazil.
authors: Glauber C C
authors: GC
authors: Siqueira
authors: Department of Pathology, FMVZ-USP, Av. Prof. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP CEP 05508-270, Brazil.
authors: José L
authors: JL
authors: Catão-Dias
authors: Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FMVZ), University of São Paulo (USP), Av. Prof. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP CEP 05508-270, Brazil, Brazil.
authors: Ricardo A
authors: RA
authors: Dias
authors: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Building 1001, BARC-East, Beltsville, MD 20705-2350, USA.
authors: Jitender P
authors: JP
authors: Dubey
mesh_terms: D000372:Agglutination Tests / Q000662:veterinary; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D001717:Birds; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002415:Cats; D002645:Chickens; D062312:Islands / Q000453:epidemiology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology*; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan
keywords: Phaeton spp.; Seabirds; Sula spp.; Toxoplasma gondii