Faecal samples from 162 wild animals were collected from 32 distinct sites of Łęczyńsko-Włodawskie Lakeland (eastern Poland). The presence of Giardia duodenalis (Stiles, 1902) was assessed by a Direct Fluorescence Assay (DFA) and by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and sequencing of a fragment of the beta-giardin gene. DFA showed the presence of cysts of G. duodenalis in 12 of 162 faecal samples (7%), namely in four wild boars (15%), four foxes (19%), two roe deer (4%), and two wolves (29%). PCR identified 34 of the 162 (21%) samples as positive, including 11 wild boars (41%), five red deer (18%), 11 roe deer (23%), four moose (17%), two wolves (29%) and a single sample from the European badger. Thus, PCR detected a significantly higher number of infection than DFA (P = 0.0005). However, 14 of 34 PCR products could not be sequenced because of their insufficient amount; the low number of cysts, poor conservation of the faeces or presence of PCR inhibitors may have contributed to weak DNA amplification. Sequence analysis of the remaining 20 products showed the presence of assemblage B in wild boars, red deer and roe deer, whereas samples from wolves were identified as assemblage D. This is the first detection of assemblage B in wild boars and deer. As assemblage B has zoonotic potential, wild animals from eastern Poland may act as reservoirs of cysts of G. duodenalis infectious for humans., Krzysztof Stojecki, Jacek Sroka, Simone M. Cacciò, Tomasz Cencek, Jacek Dutkiewicz, Paweł Kusyk., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908) is an obligatory intracellular protozoan parasite prevalent in animals and humans worldwide having medical and veterinary importance on account of causing abortion or congenital disease in intermediate hosts, including man. Since T. gondii has already been identified in the milk of goats, Capra aegagrus hircus (Linnaeus), the possibility of acquiring infection by ingesting unpasteurised goat milk should be taken into consideration. Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine the presence of T. gondii DNA in goat milk. First, 73 goats (females) from 36 farms located in Poland were examined serologically by direct agglutination test (DAT) to estimate the T. gondii serological status. Milk samples from 60 selected lactating females were examined for the presence of T. gondii DNA by Real time PCR and nested PCR (B1 gene). To estimate the clonal type of detected T. gondii, multiplex PCR was performed using 6 markers. In DAT, positive results were found in 70% of 73 goats. Among examined 60 milk samples, 65% were positive in Real time PCR and 43% in nested PCR. It is noteworthy that 11 samples positive in PCR were collected from seronegative goats. The multilocus PCR analysis mostly revealed the occurrence of genotype III, which is relatively rare in Europe. The recorded high prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma antibodies in tested goats (70%), associated with a high prevalence of T. gondii DNA in goat milk samples (65%), indicates a potential risk of the parasite transmission through goat milk ingestion., Jacek Sroka, Paweł Kusyk, Ewa Bilska-Zając, Jacek Karamon, Jacek Dutkiewicz, Angelina Wójcik-Fatla, Violetta Zając, Krzysztof Stojecki, Mirosław Różycki, Tomasz Cencek., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Faecal samples were collected from cats kept as pets (n = 120) and stray cats (n = 135) in Central Europe (Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia) and screened for the presence of Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia intestinalis (Kunstler, 1882), Encephalitozoon spp. and Enterocytozoon bieneusi Desportes, Le Charpentier, Galian, Bernard, Cochand-Priollet, Lavergne, Ravisse et Modigliani, 1985 by PCR analysis of the small-subunit of rRNA (Cryptosporidium spp. and G. intestinalis) and ITS (microsporidia) genes. Sequence analysis of targeted genes revealed the presence of C. felis Iseki, 1979, G. intestinalis assemblage F, E. cuniculi Levaditi, Nicolau et Schoen, 1923 genotype II, and E. bieneusi genotype D. There was no correlation between the occurrence of detected parasites and sex, presence of diarrhoea or drug treatment (drug containing pyrantel and praziquantel). Compared to pet cats (7%), stray cats (30%) were statistically more frequently infected with protist parasites and overall may present a greater risk to human health., Martin Kváč, Lada Hofmannová, Ynes Ortega, Nikola Holubová, Michaela Horčičková, Marta Kicia, Lenka Hlásková, Dana Květoňová, Bohumil Sak, John McEvoy., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The aim of the present work was to determine whether Dermacentor reticulatus (Fabricius), tick species common in eastern Poland could be infected with Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908). A total of 664 unfed D. reticulatus ticks were collected from six localities of Lublin province (eastern Poland) within the framework of study for the presence of bacterial, viral and parasitological infections, with use of PCR and confirmed by sequencing analysis. The prevalence of T. gondii DNA of B1 gene in the total examined D. reticulatus ticks was 3.2%. The infection varies greatly depending on the locality of tick collection (0-16.7%). Preliminary identification of clonal type (I or II/III) by Restriction Fragments Length Polymorphism PCR (RFLP-PCR) with use B1 gene showed that all isolates of T. gondii belonged to type I. RFLP analysis using genetic markers SAG1, 5'-SAG2, 3'-SAG2, SAG3, and GRA6 on B1-positive samples showed that only a single isolate proved to be type I with all five markers, another type was classified to type I according to four markers, while another five isolates had only type I alleles at GRA6, which cannot be regarded as type I confirmation. It must be pointed out that the used DNA isolation method by boiling with ammonium hydroxide enables to receive the total DNA from ticks, but may be not quite suitable for genotyping. In conclusion, this study indicates that besides Ixodes ricinus (Linnaeus), also D. reticulatus should be considered as a potential vector of T. gondii. The presumption of tick-borne transmission as an alternative pathway of disease spreading could well explain the high prevalence of toxoplasmosis among the herbivorous mammals and birds. However, this hypothesis needs verification by further experimental and ecological studies., Angelina Wójcik-Fatla, Jacek Sroka, Violetta Zając, Anna Sawczyn, Ewa Cisak, Jacek Dutkiewicz., and Obsahuje bibliografii