Prevalence of Antibodies to <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> in Different Wild Bird Species Admitted to Rehabilitation Centres in Portugal
Carolina Lopes,
Ricardo Brandão,
Ana Filipa Lopes,
Roberto Sargo,
María Casero,
Carolina Nunes,
Filipe Silva,
Jitender P. Dubey,
Luís Cardoso,
Ana Patrícia Lopes
Affiliations
Carolina Lopes
Department of Veterinary Sciences, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences (ECAV), University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Ricardo Brandão
Centre for Ecology, Recovery and Surveillance of Wild Animals (CERVAS), Av. Bombeiros Voluntários 8, 6290-520 Gouveia, Portugal
Ana Filipa Lopes
Wildlife Study and Rehabilitation Centre (CERAS), Quercus ANCN, Rua Tenente Valadim, 17, 6000-284 Castelo Branco, Portugal
Roberto Sargo
Department of Veterinary Sciences, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences (ECAV), University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
María Casero
Wildlife Rehabilitation and Research Centre of Ria Formosa (RIAS), Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, 8700-194 Olhão, Portugal
Carolina Nunes
Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre of Santo André (CRASSA), Quercus ANCN, Moinho Novo, Galiza, 7500-022 Vila Nova de Santo André, Portugal
Filipe Silva
Department of Veterinary Sciences, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences (ECAV), University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Jitender P. Dubey
Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
Luís Cardoso
Department of Veterinary Sciences, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences (ECAV), University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Ana Patrícia Lopes
Department of Veterinary Sciences, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences (ECAV), University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Toxoplasma gondii is a worldwide zoonotic parasite. According to the “One Health” approach, studies on toxoplasmosis are essential since it affects humans and domestic and wild animals. In the present study, antibodies to T. gondii were determined in serum samples from 263 wild birds located in five wildlife rehabilitation centres in mainland Portugal by using the modified agglutination test (MAT) with a cut-off titre of 20. An overall seroprevalence of 36.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 30.7–42.6) was observed. For the first time, antibodies to T. gondii were detected in some avian species, including pallid swift (Apus pallidus) (33.3%), black-backed gull (Larus fuscus) (39.3%), European turtle-dove (Streptopelia turtur) (100%), bee-eater (Merops apiaster) (50.0%), carrion crow (Corvus corone) (33.3%), and Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) (100%), which expands the list of intermediate hosts of T. gondii. A lower seroprevalence was found in juvenile birds (31.9%) compared to adults (48.7%) (p = 0.016). The central region of Portugal was considered a risk factor for T. gondii infection in wild birds (odds ratio: 3.61; 95% CI: 1.09–11.91). This pioneer study calls attention to the need for further studies, to provide a clearer understanding of T. gondii epidemiology in Portugal, because it reflects wide dispersion of T. gondii oocysts in the environment.
