Occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. in wild animals living in the Cascavel city park, Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

Digestive and respiratory tracts parasite's protozoan, Cryptosporidium spp. now-a-days is a major zoonotic agent, it causes self-limiting diarrhea, remaining in the body passively until the moment immune system decreases, leading to an increase in its multiplication in the mucosa and appearance of clinical signs. As there are few studies on cryptosporidiosis in wild free-living and captive animals, especially in Brazil, this study aimed to identify the presence of Cryptosporidium spp. in feces of captive animals in Cascavel, PR Municipal Zoo. Between 2011 and 2012 there have been four collections of bird feces and five mammalian feces totaling 65 and 118 samples respectively. Samples were sent to the laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Federal University of Parana. The feces were diluted, centrifuged and the pellets were used to make blades which were stained by the Ziehl-Neelsen modified method and observed under a microscope with 1000X magnification. Then the blades containing the oocysts were observed under a capture microscope, where they were measured. Mammals showed 49.15% and birds 44.61% of positivity. Oocysts' sizes ranged from 3,54μm to 5,81μm with an average of 4,32μm for birds and 3,11μm to 5,60μm averaging 4,63μm to mammals. As of yet, there isn't effective treatment against this parasite and considering that it's a zoonotic disease, preventive measures should be taken to prevent transmission to humans. Key words: Cryptosporidium, wild animals, Ziehl-Neelsen, zoonosis ResumoProtozoário que parasita o trato digestório e respiratório dos animais, o Cryptosporidium spp. é um importante agente zoonótico da atualidade, responsável por causar diarreia auto limitante, permanecendo no organismo de forma passiva até o momento em que há uma queda da imunidade, levando a um aumento na sua multiplicação na mucosa e aparecimento de sinais clínicos. Como há poucos estudos sobre a criptosporidiose em animais silvestres de vida livre e de cativeiro, especialmente no Brasil, esse trabalho teve como objetivo realizar uma pesquisa para identificar a presença método de Ziehl-Neelsen modificado e observadas em microscópio com aumento 1000X. Em seguida as lâminas contendo os oocistos foram observadas em microscópio de captura, onde os mesmos foram mensurados. Os mamíferos apresentaram 49,15% de positividade e as aves 44,61% das amostras positivas. O tamanho dos oocistos variou de 3,54µm a 5,81µm com uma média de 4,32µm para aves e de 3,11µm a 5,60µm com média de 4,63µm para mamíferos. Como ainda não há tratamento eficaz para esse parasito e considerando que se trata de uma zoonose, medidas preventivas devem ser tomadas para evitar a transmissão para humanos.

Cryptosporidium occurrence in ruminants from the North Pioneer mesoregion of Paraná, Brazil

“…In Brazil, studies on cryptosporidiosis in ruminants have primarily been performed in the Southeast, mainly in the states of Rio de Janeiro (COSENDEY et al, 2008;FIUZA et al, 2011), Minas Gerais (GARCIA & LIMA, 1993;GARCIA & LIMA, 1994;LIMA et al, 2013), andSão Paulo (AQUINO et al, 2015;COELHO et al, 2016;FEITOSA et al, 2004;FÉRES et al, 2009;PAZ E SILVA et al, 2013SEVÁ et al, 2010;SILVA-JUNIOR et al, 2011). In the state of Paraná, infection with Cryptosporidium was evaluated in captive birds (NAKAMURA et al, 2009), dogs with diarrhea (NAVARRO et al, 1997), horses (FUJII et al, 2014, wild birds and mammals (SNAK et al, 2015), cattle (TOLEDO et al, 2017 and sheep (SNAK et al, 2017). However, epidemiological studies have not been conducted on cryptosporidiosis in ruminants of the north pioneer mesoregion of Paraná.…”

Cryptosporidium infection in captive wild animals at Sanda Kyarimi Zoo in Maiduguri, Nigeria

“…The lower prevalence may be linked to the remote location of the Zoo in a mountain forest that limited the exposure of animals to foreign pathogens from domestic animal reservoirs. Another study on wild animals living in the Cascavel city park in Paraná, Southern Brazil, reported a relatively higher overall prevalence of 49.15% for Cryptosporidium specie (Snak et al, 2015). The high infection rate was attributed to the herbivorous feeding behaviour of most of the animals studied, which facilitates the ingestion of oocysts in the soil and vegetation.…”