Exposure of Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula) to Toxoplasma gondii in an urban area in Thuringia, Germany

IF 2 3区医学 Q3 ECOLOGY

International Journal for Parasitology-Parasites and Wildlife Pub Date : 2025-03-24 DOI:10.1016/j.ijppaw.2025.101060

Mike Heddergott , Rainer Hunold , Natalia Osten-Sacken

{"title":"Exposure of Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula) to Toxoplasma gondii in an urban area in Thuringia, Germany","authors":"Mike Heddergott , Rainer Hunold , Natalia Osten-Sacken","doi":"10.1016/j.ijppaw.2025.101060","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Toxoplasma gondii</em> is a zoonotic, globally distributed, obligate intracellular protozoan. Within the context of the ‘One Health’ approach, studies on toxoplasmosis are essential as it affects humans as well as domestic and wild animals, including birds. The Eurasian blackbird (<em>Turdus merula</em>) is one of the most common songbird species in Germany and previous studies have shown that they can be infected with <em>T. gondii</em>. The aim of the present study was to analyze <em>T. gondii</em> exposure in an urban blackbird population in Germany. Between 2018 and 2022, we collected fresh blackbird carcasses from an urban population in Heilbad Heiligenstadt, a small town in the German state of Thuringia. Altogether 112 blackbirds were analyzed for the presence of antibodies using a commercial indirect modified agglutination test (MAT) and parasite DNA (qPCR; brain and heart). The present study reports a high <em>T. gondii</em> seroprevalence as antibodies were detected in 50.9 % (57/112; 95 % CI: 41.6–60.2 %) of the urban blackbirds. However, <em>T. gondii</em> DNA was not detected in any of the samples analyzed. Body weight was identified as a risk factor, with heavier birds, both juveniles and adults, being more likely to test positive. Additionally, there was a significant interaction between body weight and sex. Our results suggest that <em>T. gondii</em> infection is widespread in the urban blackbird population, indicating a high parasite circulation in the environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54278,"journal":{"name":"International Journal for Parasitology-Parasites and Wildlife","volume":"27 ","pages":"Article 101060"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal for Parasitology-Parasites and Wildlife","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213224425000252","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ECOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic, globally distributed, obligate intracellular protozoan. Within the context of the ‘One Health’ approach, studies on toxoplasmosis are essential as it affects humans as well as domestic and wild animals, including birds. The Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula) is one of the most common songbird species in Germany and previous studies have shown that they can be infected with T. gondii. The aim of the present study was to analyze T. gondii exposure in an urban blackbird population in Germany. Between 2018 and 2022, we collected fresh blackbird carcasses from an urban population in Heilbad Heiligenstadt, a small town in the German state of Thuringia. Altogether 112 blackbirds were analyzed for the presence of antibodies using a commercial indirect modified agglutination test (MAT) and parasite DNA (qPCR; brain and heart). The present study reports a high T. gondii seroprevalence as antibodies were detected in 50.9 % (57/112; 95 % CI: 41.6–60.2 %) of the urban blackbirds. However, T. gondii DNA was not detected in any of the samples analyzed. Body weight was identified as a risk factor, with heavier birds, both juveniles and adults, being more likely to test positive. Additionally, there was a significant interaction between body weight and sex. Our results suggest that T. gondii infection is widespread in the urban blackbird population, indicating a high parasite circulation in the environment.

Abstract Image

查看原文本刊更多论文

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

International Journal for Parasitology-Parasites and Wildlife Medicine-Infectious Diseases

CiteScore

3.80

自引率

5.60%

发文量

113

审稿时长

45 days

期刊介绍： The International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife (IJP-PAW) publishes the results of original research on parasites of all wildlife, invertebrate and vertebrate. This includes free-ranging, wild populations, as well as captive wildlife, semi-domesticated species (e.g. reindeer) and farmed populations of recently domesticated or wild-captured species (e.g. cultured fishes). Articles on all aspects of wildlife parasitology are welcomed including taxonomy, biodiversity and distribution, ecology and epidemiology, population biology and host-parasite relationships. The impact of parasites on the health and conservation of wildlife is seen as an important area covered by the journal especially the potential role of environmental factors, for example climate. Also important to the journal is ''one health'' and the nature of interactions between wildlife, people and domestic animals, including disease emergence and zoonoses.