Dataset Information

Using molecular epidemiology to track Toxoplasma gondii from terrestrial carnivores to marine hosts: implications for public health and conservation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Environmental transmission of the zoonotic parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which is shed only by felids, poses risks to human and animal health in temperate and tropical ecosystems. Atypical T. gondii genotypes have been linked to severe disease in people and the threatened population of California sea otters. To investigate land-to-sea parasite transmission, we screened 373 carnivores (feral domestic cats, mountain lions, bobcats, foxes, and coyotes) for T. gondii infection and examined the distribution of genotypes in 85 infected animals sampled near the sea otter range.

Methodology/principal findings

Nested PCR-RFLP analyses and direct DNA sequencing at six independent polymorphic genetic loci (B1, SAG1, SAG3, GRA6, L358, and Apico) were used to characterize T. gondii strains in infected animals. Strains consistent with Type X, a novel genotype previously identified in over 70% of infected sea otters and four terrestrial wild carnivores along the California coast, were detected in all sampled species, including domestic cats. However, odds of Type X infection were 14 times higher (95% CI: 1.3-148.6) for wild felids than feral domestic cats. Type X infection was also linked to undeveloped lands (OR = 22, 95% CI: 2.3-250.7). A spatial cluster of terrestrial Type II infection (P = 0.04) was identified in developed lands bordering an area of increased risk for sea otter Type II infection. Two spatial clusters of animals infected with strains consistent with Type X (P ? 0.01) were detected in less developed landscapes.

Conclusions

Differences in T. gondii genotype prevalence among domestic and wild felids, as well as the spatial distribution of genotypes, suggest co-existing domestic and wild T. gondii transmission cycles that likely overlap at the interface of developed and undeveloped lands. Anthropogenic development driving contact between these cycles may increase atypical T. gondii genotypes in domestic cats and facilitate transmission of potentially more pathogenic genotypes to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife.

SUBMITTER: VanWormer E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4038486 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Using molecular epidemiology to track Toxoplasma gondii from terrestrial carnivores to marine hosts: implications for public health and conservation.

VanWormer Elizabeth E Miller Melissa A MA Conrad Patricia A PA Grigg Michael E ME Rejmanek Daniel D Carpenter Tim E TE Mazet Jonna A K JA

PLoS neglected tropical diseases 20140529 5

<h4>Background</h4>Environmental transmission of the zoonotic parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which is shed only by felids, poses risks to human and animal health in temperate and tropical ecosystems. Atypical T. gondii genotypes have been linked to severe disease in people and the threatened population of California sea otters. To investigate land-to-sea parasite transmission, we screened 373 carnivores (feral domestic cats, mountain lions, bobcats, foxes, and coyotes) for T. gondii infection and e ...[more]

PMID: 24874796

Similar Datasets

Project description:Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic protozoan with a worldwide occurrence, but the determinants of the current pattern in the geographical distribution of T. gondii lineages and strains remain poorly understood. To test the influence of human trade on T. gondii populations, we conducted a population genetic study of 72 T. gondii animal isolates from Senegal, a West African country in which the ongoing inland progress of invasive murine hosts (introduced in port cities of Senegal since the 16th century by European sailors) is well described. Isolates were mainly collected on free-range poultry, which are considered as relevant bioindicators of T. gondii strain diversity in the domestic environment. Sampling was conducted in two port cities of Senegal (Dakar and Saint-Louis) and in one inland region (Kedougou). Population genetic analyses using 15 microsatellite markers revealed different patterns between port cities where lineages non-virulent for mice (type II, type III, and Africa 4) were predominant, and Kedougou where the mouse-virulent Africa 1 lineage was the most common. By considering the current spatial pattern in the inland progress of invasive rodents in Senegal, our results suggest that the invasive house mouse Mus musculus domesticus counter-selects the Africa 1 lineage in the invaded areas. The comparison of the microsatellite alleles of type II strains from Senegal to type II strains from other areas in Africa and Western Europe, using discriminant analysis of principal components and Network analysis, point to a mainly Western European origin of the type II lineage in Senegal. Collectively, these findings suggest that human-mediated intercontinental migrations of murine hosts are important vectors of T. gondii strains. Differential susceptibility of endemic and introduced murine hosts to various T. gondii strains probably determines the persistence of these strains in the environment, and therefore their availability for human and animal infection.

Dataset Information

Using molecular epidemiology to track Toxoplasma gondii from terrestrial carnivores to marine hosts: implications for public health and conservation.

Background

Methodology/principal findings

Conclusions

Publications

Using molecular epidemiology to track Toxoplasma gondii from terrestrial carnivores to marine hosts: implications for public health and conservation.

Similar Datasets

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