Occurrence of Antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii and Lepstospira spp. in Manatees (Trichechus inunguis) of the Brazilian Amazon

• Published in: Journal of zoo and wildlife medicine Vol. 43; no. 1; pp. 85 - 88
• Main Authors: Mathews, Patrick D, da Silva, Vera M. F, Rosas, Fernando C. W, Neto, José A. d'Affonseca, Lazzarini, Stella M, Ribeiro, Daniella C, Dubey, Jitender P, Vasconcellos, Silvio A, Gennari, Solange M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Association of Zoo Veterinarians 01-03-2012
• Subjects: Animals; Antibodies; Antibodies, Bacterial - blood; Antibodies, Protozoan - blood; Brazil; Brazil - epidemiology; Cats; Infections; Leptospira; Leptospira - immunology; Leptospira spp; Leptospirosis - blood; Leptospirosis - epidemiology; Leptospirosis - immunology; Leptospirosis - veterinary; Mammalia; Mammals; Manatees; Parasitism; Research facilities; serology; Sirenia; Toxoplasma - immunology; Toxoplasma gondii; Toxoplasmosis, Animal - blood; Toxoplasmosis, Animal - epidemiology; Toxoplasmosis, Animal - immunology; Trichechus inunguis; Wildlife; Brazil; South America, Amazon R
• ISSN: 1042-7260; 1937-2825
• DOI: 10.1638/2011-0178.1

The presence of Toxoplasma gondii and Leptospira spp. antibodies was investigated in 74 manatees (Trichechus inunguis [Mammalia: Sirenia]) kept in captivity in two rescue units in the northern region of Brazil. Antibodies to T. gondii were detected in 29 (39.2%) of 74 animals by using the modified agglutination test (titer, 1:25). For antibodies against Leptospira spp., sera were diluted 1:50 and tested against 24 strains of leptospires by microscopic agglutination microtechnique, and positive samples were end titrated. Twenty-three (31.1%) of 74 animals were reactive to four serovars (Patoc 21/23, Castellonis 2/23, Icterohaemorrhagiae 1/23, and Butembo 1/23), with titers ranging from 100 to 1,600. This is the first report of antibodies against T. gondii and Leptospira spp. in T. inunguis from the Brazilian Amazon.