Molecular identification of "Toxoplasma gondii" in roadkill wild animals in Yucatan, Mexico
- Autores: Marco Torres Castro, Rodrigo Adán Medina-Pinto, Henry René Noh-Pech, Fernando I. Puerto, Roger Iván Rodríguez Vivas
- Localización: Veterinaria México, ISSN 0301-5092, Vol. 6, Nº. 1, 2019
- Idioma: inglés
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Resumen
Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite, recognized as the etiologic agent of toxoplasmosis, a zoonotic endemic disease in several countries, including Mexico. In the Yucatan State of Mexico, Toxoplasma infection has a high impact in both human and domestic animal health. Wild animals can also host zoonotic pathogens such as Toxoplasma gondii. The presence of Toxoplasma gondii DNA in roadkill wild animals in Yucatan was detected using a nested Polymerase Chain Reaction. Toxoplasma gondii DNA was identified in several organs retrieved from a Yucatan squirrel (Sciurus yucatanensis), a coatimundi (Nasua narica), and a greater grison (Galictis vittata). The amplified fragments of Toxoplasma gondii DNA were purified, sequenced, and certified by BLAST analysis. Our results confirm that Toxoplasma gondii can infect wild mammals from Yucatan, which could act as intermediate hosts and contribute to the transmission of the disease to humans and domestic animals, as well as other wild animal species. We present the first molecular evidence of Toxoplasma gondii in a squirrel and a coatimundi from Yucatan, and quite possibly in a greater grison at a global level.
Keywords: Toxoplasma gondii; roadkill; wild animals; Yucatan; Mexico
