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Reichard, M.V.; Criffield, M.; Thomas, J.E.; Paritte, J.M.; Cunningham, M.; Onorato, D.; Logan, K.; Interisano, M.; Marucci, G.; Pozio, E.
High prevalence of _Trichinella pseudospiralis_ in Florida panthers
2015  Parasites & Vectors (8): 67-72

Parasites of the genus _Trichinella_ are zoonotic nematodes common in carnivores throughout the world. We determined the prevalence and species of _Trichinella_ infections in Florida panthers (_Puma concolor coryi_). Tongues from Florida panthers were collected at necropsy and examined by pepsin-HCl artificial digestion for infection with _Trichinella_ spp. DNA was extracted from larvae and multiplex PCR using _Trichinella_ species-specific primers was used to genotype the worms. _Trichinella_ spp. larvae were detected in 24 of 112 (21.4%; 14.6%-30.3%) panthers. Sixteen of the panthers (14.3%) were infected with _T. pseudospiralis_, 1 (0.9%) was infected with _T. spiralis_, and 2 (1.8%) had mixed infections of _T. pseudospiralis_ and _T. spiralis_. _Trichinella_ spp. larvae from 5 panthers were not identified at the species level due to degraded DNA. This is the highest prevalence of _T. pseudospiralis_ detected in North America up to now and suggests the Florida panther is a key mammalian reservoir of this parasite in southern Florida. _Trichinella pseudospiralis_ can infect both mammals and birds indicating the source of infection for Florida panthers could be broader than believed; however, birds represent a small percentage (0.01%) of the cat's diet. Since wild pigs (_Sus scrofa_) can be parasitized by both _T. pseudospiralis_ and _T. spiralis_ and these swine can comprise a large portion (~40%) of a panther's diet in Florida, we believe that Florida panthers acquired these zoonotic parasites from feeding on wild pigs.

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