Toxoplasma gondii and related Sarcocystidae parasites in harvested caribou from Nunavik, Canada
Caribou are keystone species important for human harvest and of conservation concern; even so, much is unknown about the impact of parasites on caribou health and ecology. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence, tissue prevalence, and diversity of tissue-dwelling coccidian parasit...
Published in: | International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.06.008 https://doaj.org/article/169cae5060a841fca24946d81d2ade44 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:169cae5060a841fca24946d81d2ade44 2023-09-05T13:19:23+02:00 Toxoplasma gondii and related Sarcocystidae parasites in harvested caribou from Nunavik, Canada Adrián Hernández-Ortiz Émilie Bouchard Louwrens P. Snyman Batol H. Al-Adhami Géraldine-G. Gouin Mikhaela Neelin Emily J. Jenkins 2023-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.06.008 https://doaj.org/article/169cae5060a841fca24946d81d2ade44 EN eng Elsevier http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213224423000500 https://doaj.org/toc/2213-2244 2213-2244 doi:10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.06.008 https://doaj.org/article/169cae5060a841fca24946d81d2ade44 International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, Vol 21, Iss , Pp 246-254 (2023) Caribou Toxoplasma gondii Neospora caninum Sarcocystis Zoology QL1-991 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.06.008 2023-08-13T00:40:56Z Caribou are keystone species important for human harvest and of conservation concern; even so, much is unknown about the impact of parasites on caribou health and ecology. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence, tissue prevalence, and diversity of tissue-dwelling coccidian parasites (including Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum and Sarcocystis spp.) in 88 migratory caribou (Rangifer tarandus) harvested for human consumption in two communities in Nunavik, Québec, Canada. Both T. gondii and N. caninum have potential to cause abortions and neurological disease in caribou. Seroprevalence for antibodies to T. gondii using ELISA on fluid from thawed hearts was 18% overall, and no DNA of T. gondii was detected in tissues, which has positive implications for food safety since this parasite is zoonotic. Seroprevalence for antibodies to N. caninum using competitive ELISA was 5%, and DNA of N. caninum was detected in only one heart sample. DNA of Sarcocystis, a non-zoonotic, related coccidian, was detected in tissue samples from 85% of caribou, with higher prevalence in heart (82%) than skeletal muscle (47%). This is the first time that Sarcocystis spp. from caribou in Canada have been identified to species level, many of which have been described in reindeer from Fennoscandia. The high prevalence and diversity of Sarcocystis spp. suggests intact trophic relationships between canids and caribou in Nunavik. Besnoitia spp. was serendipitously detected in three muscle samples, a parasite previously associated with skin lesions in caribou in Nunavik. Community-level differences in T. gondii exposure and prevalence of Sarcocystis spp. in skeletal muscle tissues may reflect differences in hunter selection of individual animals and muscles, or possibly regional differences in the ecology of carnivore definitive hosts for these parasites. Further work is needed to explore effects of tissue coccidians in caribou, their taxonomic classifications, and community level differences in parasite prevalence and ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Fennoscandia Rangifer tarandus Nunavik Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Canada Nunavik International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 21 246 254 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Caribou Toxoplasma gondii Neospora caninum Sarcocystis Zoology QL1-991 |
spellingShingle |
Caribou Toxoplasma gondii Neospora caninum Sarcocystis Zoology QL1-991 Adrián Hernández-Ortiz Émilie Bouchard Louwrens P. Snyman Batol H. Al-Adhami Géraldine-G. Gouin Mikhaela Neelin Emily J. Jenkins Toxoplasma gondii and related Sarcocystidae parasites in harvested caribou from Nunavik, Canada |
topic_facet |
Caribou Toxoplasma gondii Neospora caninum Sarcocystis Zoology QL1-991 |
description |
Caribou are keystone species important for human harvest and of conservation concern; even so, much is unknown about the impact of parasites on caribou health and ecology. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence, tissue prevalence, and diversity of tissue-dwelling coccidian parasites (including Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum and Sarcocystis spp.) in 88 migratory caribou (Rangifer tarandus) harvested for human consumption in two communities in Nunavik, Québec, Canada. Both T. gondii and N. caninum have potential to cause abortions and neurological disease in caribou. Seroprevalence for antibodies to T. gondii using ELISA on fluid from thawed hearts was 18% overall, and no DNA of T. gondii was detected in tissues, which has positive implications for food safety since this parasite is zoonotic. Seroprevalence for antibodies to N. caninum using competitive ELISA was 5%, and DNA of N. caninum was detected in only one heart sample. DNA of Sarcocystis, a non-zoonotic, related coccidian, was detected in tissue samples from 85% of caribou, with higher prevalence in heart (82%) than skeletal muscle (47%). This is the first time that Sarcocystis spp. from caribou in Canada have been identified to species level, many of which have been described in reindeer from Fennoscandia. The high prevalence and diversity of Sarcocystis spp. suggests intact trophic relationships between canids and caribou in Nunavik. Besnoitia spp. was serendipitously detected in three muscle samples, a parasite previously associated with skin lesions in caribou in Nunavik. Community-level differences in T. gondii exposure and prevalence of Sarcocystis spp. in skeletal muscle tissues may reflect differences in hunter selection of individual animals and muscles, or possibly regional differences in the ecology of carnivore definitive hosts for these parasites. Further work is needed to explore effects of tissue coccidians in caribou, their taxonomic classifications, and community level differences in parasite prevalence and ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Adrián Hernández-Ortiz Émilie Bouchard Louwrens P. Snyman Batol H. Al-Adhami Géraldine-G. Gouin Mikhaela Neelin Emily J. Jenkins |
author_facet |
Adrián Hernández-Ortiz Émilie Bouchard Louwrens P. Snyman Batol H. Al-Adhami Géraldine-G. Gouin Mikhaela Neelin Emily J. Jenkins |
author_sort |
Adrián Hernández-Ortiz |
title |
Toxoplasma gondii and related Sarcocystidae parasites in harvested caribou from Nunavik, Canada |
title_short |
Toxoplasma gondii and related Sarcocystidae parasites in harvested caribou from Nunavik, Canada |
title_full |
Toxoplasma gondii and related Sarcocystidae parasites in harvested caribou from Nunavik, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Toxoplasma gondii and related Sarcocystidae parasites in harvested caribou from Nunavik, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Toxoplasma gondii and related Sarcocystidae parasites in harvested caribou from Nunavik, Canada |
title_sort |
toxoplasma gondii and related sarcocystidae parasites in harvested caribou from nunavik, canada |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.06.008 https://doaj.org/article/169cae5060a841fca24946d81d2ade44 |
geographic |
Canada Nunavik |
geographic_facet |
Canada Nunavik |
genre |
Fennoscandia Rangifer tarandus Nunavik |
genre_facet |
Fennoscandia Rangifer tarandus Nunavik |
op_source |
International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, Vol 21, Iss , Pp 246-254 (2023) |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213224423000500 https://doaj.org/toc/2213-2244 2213-2244 doi:10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.06.008 https://doaj.org/article/169cae5060a841fca24946d81d2ade44 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.06.008 |
container_title |
International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife |
container_volume |
21 |
container_start_page |
246 |
op_container_end_page |
254 |
_version_ |
1776200164058333184 |