Lessons from a multilaboratorial task force for diagnosis of a fatal toxoplasmosis outbreak in captive primates in Brazil
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Schiffler, Francine Bittencourt
Pereira, Asheley Henrique Barbosa
Moreira, Silvia Bahadian
Arruda, Igor Falco
Moreira, Filipe Romero Rebello
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Toxoplasmosis is an important zoonotic disease caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii and is especially fatal for neotropical primates. In Brazil, the Ministry of Health is responsible for national epizootic surveillance, but some diseases are still neglected. Here, we present an integrated investigation of an outbreak that occurred during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic among eleven neotropical primates housed at a primatology center in Brazil. After presenting non-specific clinical signs, all animals died within four days. A wide range of pathogens were evaluated, and we successfully identified T. gondii as the causative agent within four days after necropsies. The liver was the most affected organ, presenting hemorrhage and hepatocellular necrosis. Tachyzoites and bradyzoite cysts were observed in histological examinations and immunohistochemistry in different organs; in addition, parasitic DNA was detected through PCR in blood samples from all specimens evaluated. A high prevalence of Escherichia coli was also observed, indicating sepsis. This case highlights some of the obstacles faced by the current Brazilian surveillance system. A diagnosis was obtained through the integrated action of researchers since investigation for toxoplasmosis is currently absent in national guidelines. An interdisciplinary investigation could be a possible model for future epizootic investigations in animals.
Date Issued
2023-12-01
Date Acceptance
2023-11-23
Citation
Microorganisms, 2023, 11 (12)
ISSN
2076-2607
Publisher
MDPI AG
Journal / Book Title
Microorganisms
Volume
11
Issue
12
Copyright Statement
© 2023 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 (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38138032
PII: microorganisms11122888
Subjects
ASSAY
GENETIC DIVERSITY
GENOTYPES
GONDII
HANTAVIRUS
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Microbiology
MOUSE
neotropical primate
one health
parasitic infection
public policy
SAO-PAULO
Science & Technology
STATE
toxoplasmosis
veterinary pathology
VIRUS
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
Switzerland
Article Number
2888
Date Publish Online
2023-11-29