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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #286217
Title: Serological Evidence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in five species of bats in China

Author
item YOUN, ZI-GUO - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item LUO, SHENG JUN - Guangdong Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item Dubey, Jitender
item ZHOU, DONG-HUI - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item ZHU, YAN-PING - Xianxiang University
item HE, YONG - Xianxiang University
item HE, XIAN-HUI - South China Agricultural University
item ZHANG, XIU-XIANG - South China Agricultural University
item ZHU, XING-QUAN - Yunnan Agricultural University

Submitted to: Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2012
Publication Date: 6/1/2013
Citation: Youn, Z., Luo, S., Dubey, J.P., Zhou, D., Zhu, Y., He, Y., He, X., Zhang, X., Zhu, X. 2013. Serological Evidence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in five species of bats in China. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases. 13:422-424.

Interpretive Summary: Toxoplasma gondii is a single-celled parasite of all warm-blooded hosts worldwide. It causes mental retardation and loss of vision in children, and abortion in livestock. Cats are the main reservoir of T. gondii because they are the only hosts that can excrete the resistant stage (oocyst) of the parasite in the feces. Humans become infected by eating under cooked meat from infected animals and food and water contaminated with oocysts. In the present paper authors report T. gondii infection in bats, indicating contamination of caves with oocysts. The results will be of interest to biologists, parasitologists, and public health workers.

Technical Abstract: Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite which can infect almost all warm-blooded animals and humans with a worldwide distribution. Bats are reservoirs for an increasing number of emerging zoonotic viruses, such as henipaviruses and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (SARS-CoV). However, little is known of T. gondii infection in bats. The objective of the present study was to determine the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in bats in China. A total of 217 serum samples from five species of bats were collected between April 2010 and August 2011 from four provinces in China, and antibodies to T. gondii were determined using the modified agglutination test (MAT, 1:25 or higher). Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 26.5% (18/68) Megaderma lyra, 13.6% (12/88) Rousettus leschenaulti, 13.6% (3/22) Cynopterus sphinx, 20% (4/20) Vespertilio superaus and 15.8%% (3/19) Pipistrellus javanicus. Antibody titers ranged from 1:25 to 1:400 with titers of 1:200 in 4 of the 5 bat species. The present study demonstrated the occurrence of T. gondii infection in bats in China, and these bats are new hosts for T. gondii, which may pose a threat to human health.