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Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 40(2), 2004, pp. 294-300
© Wildlife Disease Association  2004
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SHORT COMMUNICATION

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in Canadian Pinnipeds

Lena N. Measures1,5, J. P. Dubey2, P. Labelle3,4 and D. Martineau3

1 Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Maurice Lamontagne Institute, 850 route de la mer, Mont-Joli, Québec, Canada G5H 3Z4;
2 US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal and Natural Resources Institute, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, BARC-East, Bldg. 1001, Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2350, USA;
3 Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre and Centre Québecois sur la Santé des Animaux Sauvage, Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, 3200 rue Sicotte, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada J2S 7C6;
4 Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA
5 Corresponding author (email: measuresL{at}dfo-mpo.gc.ca)

ABSTRACT:   Sera (n=328) collected from phocids (1995–97) from the east coast of Canada, including harp seals (Phoca groenlandica), hooded seals (Cystophora cristata), grey seals (Halichoerus grypus), and harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), were diluted 1:25, 1:50, and 1:500 and tested by a modified agglutination test for antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii. Titers equal to or greater than 1:25 were considered evidence of exposure. Grey seal (11/122, 9%), harbor seal (3/34, 9%), and hooded seal (1/60, 2%) had titers of 1:25 and 1:50. Harp seals (n=112) were seronegative. Probable maternal antibody transfer was observed in one harbor and one grey seal pup at 10 and 14 day of age, respectively. Transmission of T. gondii in the marine environment is not understood. The discovery of T. gondii in marine mammals might indicate natural infections unknown because of lack of study or might indicate recent contamination of the marine environment from the terrestrial environment by natural or anthropogenic activities.
  Key words:  Canada, pinnipeds, seals, sero-prevalence survey, Toxoplasma gondii.






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