Apparent absence of Cryptosporidium, Giardia and Toxoplasma gondii in three species of penguins along the Antarctic Peninsula

• Published in: Antarctic Science
• Main Authors: Palacios, Maria José, Barbosa, Andrés, Pedraza-Díaz, Susana, Ortega-Mora, Luis Miguel, Valera, Francisco, Cuervo, José Javier, Benzal, Jesús, De La Cruz, Carlos
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2010
• Subjects: Geology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Oceanography; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; South Shetland Islands; Antarc*; Antarctic Science; Antarctica; Pygoscelis adeliae; Pygoscelis antarctica; Pygoscelis papua
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102010000039; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102010000039

Abstract We carried out a study to investigate the presence of some protozoan parasites ( Cryptosporidium sp., Giardia sp., Toxoplasma gondii ) on three species of Antarctic penguins: Adélie ( Pygoscelis adeliae ), gentoo ( Pygoscelis papua ) and chinstrap ( Pygoscelis antarctica ) from different locations along the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands. Swabs and faeces samples were analysed by PCR assay for Cryptosporidium sp. and Giardia sp. while Toxoplasma was studied using serological methods from blood samples. We did not detect the presence of these organisms in the species studied. However, based on the upper values of the confidence intervals of the observed prevalence, their presence cannot be completely excluded.