Exposure of Urban European Hedgehogs (<i>Erinaceus europaeus</i>) to <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> in Highly Populated Areas of Northeast Spain
Alejandra Escudero,
Maria Puig Ribas,
Elena Obón,
Sonia Almería,
Xavier Fernández Aguilar,
Hojjat Gholipour,
Oscar Cabezón,
Rafael Molina-López
Affiliations
Alejandra Escudero
Anatomía Patológica, Departamento de Producción y Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, 46115 Alfara del Patriarca, Valencian Community, Spain
Maria Puig Ribas
Wildlife Conservation Medicine Research Group (WildCoM), Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain
Elena Obón
Centre de Fauna Salvatge de Torreferrussa, Forestal Catalana, S.A., Generalitat de Catalunya, 08130 Santa Perpètua de la Mogoda, Catalonia, Spain
Sonia Almería
Center for Food Safety and Nutrition (CFSAN), Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Office of Applied Research and Safety Assessment (OARSA), Division of Virulence Assessment, Laurel, MD 20708, USA
Xavier Fernández Aguilar
Wildlife Conservation Medicine Research Group (WildCoM), Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain
Hojjat Gholipour
Wildlife Conservation Medicine Research Group (WildCoM), Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain
Oscar Cabezón
Wildlife Conservation Medicine Research Group (WildCoM), Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain
Rafael Molina-López
Centre de Fauna Salvatge de Torreferrussa, Forestal Catalana, S.A., Generalitat de Catalunya, 08130 Santa Perpètua de la Mogoda, Catalonia, Spain
Toxoplasma gondii is a generalist zoonotic parasite that involves a wide range of warm-blooded animals as intermediate hosts and felines as definitive hosts. Recent studies have proved significant positive associations between human population density and T. gondii seroprevalence in wildlife. However, there is limited data regarding T. gondii wildlife in urban areas, where the highest human density occurs. The present study aimed to analyse the T. gondii exposure in urban hedgehogs from the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, NE Spain. One hundred eighteen hedgehogs were analysed for the presence of antibodies (modified agglutination test; n = 55) and parasite DNA (qPCR; heart = 34; brain = 60). Antibodies were detected in 69.09% of hedgehogs. T. gondii DNA was not detected in any of the analysed samples. The present study reports a high T. gondii seroprevalence in urban hedgehogs in areas surrounding Barcelona, the most densely human-populated area of NE Spain, reinforcing the association between human population density and environmental T. gondii oocysts. The lack of detection by molecular techniques warrants more studies. In the last few decades, the distribution and abundance of European hedgehogs have declined, including their urban populations. Further research is needed to investigate the impact of T. gondii on hedgehog populations.
