Prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. in Five Marine Mammal Species

Abstract

Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. are protozoan parasites that are often associated with severe diarrheal disease in a variety of mammals. Although these parasites have been extensively studied in terrestrial ecosystems, little is known about either parasite in the marine environment. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of both Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. in 5 marine mammal species. Fecal samples were collected from 39 bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus), 49 North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis), 31 ringed seals (Phoca hispida), 22 bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus), and 18 beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) between 1998 and 2003. Using an immunofluorescent assay, parasites were detected in the feces of bowhead whales, right whales, and ringed seals, while neither parasite was detected in samples from bearded seals or beluga whales. Overall, prevalences were highest in ringed seals (Cryptosporidium spp., 22.6%; Giardia spp., 64.5%) and right whales (Cryptosporidium spp., 24.5%; Giardia spp., 71.4%) and lowest in bowhead whales (Cryptosporidium spp., 5.1%; Giardia spp., 33.3%). To our knowledge, this is the first report of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. in either whale species and of Cryptosporidium spp. in the ringed seal.

Scientific Opinion on the minimum hygiene criteria to be applied to clean seawater and on the public health risks and hygiene criteria for bottled seawater intended for domestic use

“…Cryptosporidium has been detected in marine mammals (Hughes-Hanks et al, 2005;Rengifo-Herrera et al, 2010) although their infectiousness to humans is poorly understood, however C.hominis has been detected in a dougon in Australia (Morgan et al, 2000). Outbreaks associated with contaminated drinking water have been reported world-wide (Fayer et al, 2004;LeChevallier and Moser, 1995).…”

“…Giardia has been detected in marine mammals (Hughes-Hanks et al, 2005) although their infectious to humans in poorly understood. Outbreaks associated with contaminated drinking water have been reported world-wide (LeChevallier and Moser, 1995).…”

Criptosporidiose: uma revisão sobre a sua implicação na conservação dos mamíferos aquáticos

“…De acordo com Hughes-Hanks et al (2005), diversas pesquisas vêm sendo desenvolvidas nos ecossistemas terrestres, porém os estudos e informações de agentes parasitários nos ambientes marinhos ainda são reduzidos. Evidências recentes indicaram a presença do Cryptosporidium spp.…”

“…está associada a material coletado de animais em vida livre (Deng et al 2000, Borges et al 2006) ou "post-mortem" , Hughes-Hanks et al 2005, o que dificulta a constatação dos sinais clínicos apresentados por estes animais. Porém, de acordo com Hill et al (1997) a infecção por este coccídio em dugongo, ocasionou sinais de anorexia, acentuada letargia com natação lenta em águas rasas, sendo este animal considerado em estágio terminal.…”

“…Desta forma, métodos de detecção com maior sensibilidade vêm aos poucos sendo empregados, dentre eles a reação em cadeia da polimerase (PCR) conforme a sua utilização em dugongo e golfinho-fliper, Tursiops truncatus , sendo salientado a importância desta técnica em pesquisas com mamí-feros aquáticos (Hughes-Hanks et al 2005), pois possibilita detectar seqüências específicas do DNA do parasito (Monis & Saint 2000, Feng et al 2001), contribuindo para a elucidação da epidemiologia da criptosporidiose (Hadjusek et al 2004). …”