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Furtado, M.M.; Gennari, S.M.; Ikuta, C.Y.; de Almeida Jacomo, A.T.; de Morais, Z.M.; de Jesus Pena, H.F.; de Oliveira Porfirio, G.E.; Silveira, L.; Sollmann, R.; de Souza, G.O.; Torres, N.M.; Ferreira Neto, J.S.
Serosurvey of smooth _Brucella, Leptospira _spp. and _Toxoplasma gondii_ in free-ranging jaguars and domestic animals from Brazil
2015  PLoS ONE (10): 1-13

This study investigated the exposure of jaguar populations and domestic animals to smooth _Brucella, Leptospira_ spp. and _Toxoplasma gondii_ in the Cerrado, Pantanal and Amazon biomes of Brazil. Between February 2000 and January 2010, serum samples from 31 jaguars (_Panthera onca_), 1,245 cattle (_Bos taurus_), 168 domestic dogs (_Canis lupus familiaris_) and 29 domestic cats (_Felis catus_) were collected and analysed by rose bengal test for smooth _Brucella_, microscopic agglutination test for _Leptospira_ spp. and modified agglutination test for _T. gondii_. Cattle populations from all sites (9.88%) were exposed to smooth _Brucella_, but only one jaguar from Cerrado was exposed to this agent. Jaguars captured in the Cerrado (60.0%) and in the Pantanal (45.5%) were seropositive for different serovars of _Leptospira_ spp., cattle (72.18%) and domestic dogs (13.1%) from the three sites and one domestic cat from Pantanal were also seropositive for the agent. The most prevalent serotype of _Leptospira_ spp. identified in jaguars from the Cerrado (Grippotyphosa) and the Pantanal (Pomona) biomes were distinct from those found in the domestic animals sampled. Jaguars (100%), domestic dogs (38.28%) and domestic cats (82.76%) from the three areas were exposed to _T. gondii_. Our results show that brucellosis and leptospirosis could have been transmitted to jaguars by domestic animals; and jaguars probably play an important role in the maintenance of _T. gondii_ in nature.

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