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Vertical transmission of Toxoplasma gondii in Australian marsupials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2009

N. PARAMESWARAN ,
R. M. O'HANDLEY ,
M. E. GRIGG ,
A. WAYNE  and
R. C. A. THOMPSON
N. PARAMESWARAN*
Affiliation:
WHO Collaborating Centre for the Molecular Epidemiology of Parasitic Infections, School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
R. M. O'HANDLEY
Affiliation:
Environmental Biotechnology CRC, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
M. E. GRIGG
Affiliation:
Molecular Parasitology Unit, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institutes of Health, NIAID, 4 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
A. WAYNE
Affiliation:
Department of Environment and Conservation, Manjimup, WA 6258, Australia
R. C. A. THOMPSON
Affiliation:
WHO Collaborating Centre for the Molecular Epidemiology of Parasitic Infections, School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
*
*Corresponding author: WHO Collaborating Centre for the Molecular Epidemiology of Parasitic Infections, School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch WA 6150, Australia. Tel: +61 893602690. Fax: +61 893104144. E-mail: [email protected]
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Summary

To date, little is known about the dynamics of vertical transmission of Toxoplasma gondii in Australian marsupials. Studies in mice demonstrate that vertical transmission of T. gondii is common and that chronically infected mice can transmit T. gondii to successive generations. In this study, PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to detect T. gondii in chronically infected marsupial dams and their offspring. T. gondii was detected in the unfurred pouch young of 2 out of 10 chronically infected western grey kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus) and in the unfurred pouch young of a brush-tailed bettong (Bettongia penicillata). Results of the study suggest that vertical transmission of T. gondii can occur in chronically infected Australian marsupials.

Keywords

Toxoplasma gondiimarsupialvertical transmissionAustraliacongenitaltoxoplasmosis
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 136 , Issue 9 , August 2009 , pp. 939 - 944
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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