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Trichinella spiralis in a South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens) from Patagonia, Argentina

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Abstract

Trichinella spp. from a sylvatic cycle has been found in several animal species such as pumas (Puma concolor), armadillos (Chaetophractus villosus), rats (Rattus norvegicus), and wild boars (Sus scrofa) in Argentina. Moreover, Trichinella infection has been detected in a wide range of marine mammals around the world, including polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and walruses (Odobenus rosmarus). Until the present time, Trichinella spp. infection has not been detected in marine mammals of South America. Samples from four South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens) found dead in Rio Negro, Argentina, were analyzed by artificial digestion, and in the case of one animal, Trichinella larvae were identified at the species level by nested multiplex PCR as Trichinella spiralis. This is the first report of a Trichinella species infecting marine mammals from South America.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable (SAyDS) of Río Negro Province for giving us permission to get sample from the rookeries.

Funding

This work was supported by Universidad de Buenos Aires, Secretaria de Ciencia y Técnica Subsidio UBACyT20020130100336BA and Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, FONCyT Subsidio PICT-2015-2350.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Cátedra de Parasitología y Enfermedades Parasitarias, Av. Chorroarín 280, C1427CWO, CABA, Argentina

    M. I. Pasqualetti, F. A. Fariña, M. E. Ercole, C. Bessi & M. M. Ribicich

  2. CONICET – Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones en Producción Animal (INPA), Av. Chorroarín 280, C1427CWO, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    M. I. Pasqualetti, F. A. Fariña & M. M. Ribicich

  3. ANLIS, Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    S. J. Krivokapich & G. M. Gatti

  4. Laboratorio de Sistemática, Anatomía y Bioecología de Mamíferos Marinos, Division Mastozoología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, “Bernardino Rivadavia”- CONICET, Av. Angel Gallardo 470, C1405DJR, CABA, Argentina

    G. A. Daneri, E. A. Varela & S. Lucero

  5. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro-Sede Atlántica, Viedma, Río Negro, Argentina

    M. Winter

  6. Centro de Investigación y Transferencia Río Negro, Viedma, Río Negro, Argentina

    M. Winter

Authors
  1. M. I. Pasqualetti
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  2. F. A. Fariña
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  3. S. J. Krivokapich
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  4. G. M. Gatti
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  5. G. A. Daneri
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  6. E. A. Varela
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  7. S. Lucero
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  8. M. E. Ercole
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  9. C. Bessi
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  10. M. Winter
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  11. M. M. Ribicich
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Section Editor: Herbert Auer

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Pasqualetti, M.I., Fariña, F.A., Krivokapich, S.J. et al. Trichinella spiralis in a South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens) from Patagonia, Argentina. Parasitol Res 117, 4033–4036 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-018-6116-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-018-6116-z

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