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Toxoplasmosis and the wild rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus in Victoria, Australia with suggested mechanisms for dissemination of oocysts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2010

J. C. Cox
Affiliation:
Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, Poplar Road, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia
J. W. Edmonds
Affiliation:
Keith Turnbull Research Institute, Vermin and Noxious Weeds Destruction Board, Department of Crown Lands and Survey, Frankston, Victoria, 3199, Australia
Rosamond C. H. Shepherd
Affiliation:
Keith Turnbull Research Institute, Vermin and Noxious Weeds Destruction Board, Department of Crown Lands and Survey, Frankston, Victoria, 3199, Australia
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Summary

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Sera or serum eluates from 1697 wild rabbits [Oryctolagus cuniculus (L)], collected over the past 10 years from 24 sites in 5 geographic regions of Victoria, were examined for antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii. Sera generally were classified into three broad groups, negative (titre < 10), weakly reactive (titre 10 to 100) and strongly positive (titre > 1000). Strongly positive sera came from rabbits collected in a small number of localized areas, most significantly the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) Sewerage Farm at Werribee and Mud Island in Port Phillip Bay.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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