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Gastrointestinal parasites in the opossum Didelphis aurita: Are they a potential threat to human health?

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Abstract

Currently, a great proportion of the emerging infectious human diseases are zoonotic, with most of the pathogens originated from wildlife. In this sense, synanthropic animals such as marsupials play important role in the dissemination of pathogens due to their proximity to human dwellings. These hosts are affected by many gastrointestinal parasites, including species with zoonotic potential. The aim of this study was to assess the diversity of gastrointestinal parasites infecting the black-eared opossum D. aurita captured in urban areas of Southeastern, Brazil. In addition, the potential risk for the human population based on the One Health perspective has been discussed. Forty-nine marsupial specimens were captured with Tomahawk live traps and fecal samples were collected. The samples were evaluated by parasitological procedures. Eggs and oocysts were analyzed at different magnifications (400 × and 1000 ×), and their identification, together with adult nematodes, was established on morphological and morphometric data. Forty-three hosts (87.76%) scored positive for at least one gastrointestinal parasite, being 83.67% (41/49) for helminths, and 65.30% (32/49) for protozoa. For Cryptosporidium sp., only 13 samples were evaluated due to insufficient amount of feces obtained of some animals. A prevalence of 23.08% (3/13) was reported for this parasite. PCR analysis revealed Ancylostomatidae eggs to belong to the genus Ancylostoma. Our results demonstrated that multiparasitism is frequently found in these animals and a high percentage of potentially zoonotic parasites are observed, implying that D. aurita may be involved in zoonotic cycles in urban environments.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG), and the Graduate Program in Veterinary Medicine of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) for the support provided. Finally, authors would like to thank Professor Gisele M. L. del Giúdice for providing traps to capture the animals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Viçosa, Av. PH Rolfs, s/n, University Campus, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil

    Marcos Antônio Bezerra-Santos, Carolina Silveira Fontes, Bárbara Cristina Félix Nogueira, Ricardo Seiti Yamatogi, Jackson Victor de Araújo & Artur Kanadani Campos

  2. Academic Unit of Garanhuns, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Av. Bom Pastor, s/n, Boa Vista, Garanhuns, PE, 55292-270, Brazil

    Rafael Antonio Nascimento Ramos

  3. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Av. Senador Filinto Müller, 2443, Jd. Ipiranga, Campo Grande, MS, 79074-460, Brazil

    Juliana Arena Galhardo

  4. Department of Parasitology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG, CEP 31270-901, Brazil

    Luis Fernando Viana Furtado & Élida Mara Leite Rabelo

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  1. Marcos Antônio Bezerra-Santos
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  2. Carolina Silveira Fontes
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Contributions

MABS, CSF and BCFN collected samples and performed laboratory procedures. LFVF and EMLR performed the molecular procedures. AKC, RANR and RSY supervised the study. MABS, RSY and JAG analyzed the data. MABS wrote the first draft of the manuscript. AKC, RANR, RSY, LFVF, EMLR and JVA revised and performed corrections on the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Marcos Antônio Bezerra-Santos.

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The Ethics Committee for Animal Experimentation (ECAE) of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (License Number: 80/2018) and the Biodiversity Information and Authorization System (SISBIO) (License Number: 64930-1) of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) approved all procedures herein performed.

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Bezerra-Santos, M.A., Fontes, C.S., Nogueira, B.C.F. et al. Gastrointestinal parasites in the opossum Didelphis aurita: Are they a potential threat to human health?. J Parasit Dis 44, 355–363 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-020-01205-9

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