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Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz
ISSN: 1678-8060
EISSN: 1678-8060
Vol. 108, No. 4, 2013, pp. 399-407
Bioline Code: oc13070
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge

Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Vol. 108, No. 4, 2013, pp. 399-407

 en Toxoplasmosis seroprevalence in urban rodents: a survey in Niamey, Niger
Mercier, Aurélien; Garba, Madougou; Bonnabau, Henri; Kane, Mamadou; Rossi, Jean-Pierre; Dardé, Marie-Laure & Dobigny, Gauthier

Abstract

A serological survey of Toxoplasma gondii check for this species in other resources was conducted on 766 domestic and peridomestic rodents from 46 trapping sites throughout the city of Niamey, Niger. A low seroprevalence was found over the whole town with only 1.96% of the rodents found seropositive. However, differences between species were important, ranging from less than 2% in truly commensal Mastomys natalensis check for this species in other resources , Rattus rattus check for this species in other resources and Mus musculus check for this species in other resources , while garden-associated Arvicanthis niloticus check for this species in other resources displayed 9.1% of seropositive individuals. This is in line with previous studies on tropical rodents - that we reviewed here - which altogether show that Toxoplasma check for this species in other resources seroprevalence in rodent is highly variable, depending on many factors such as locality and/or species. Moreover, although we were not able to decipher statistically between habitat or species effect, such a contrast between Nile grass rats and the other rodent species points towards a potentially important role of environmental toxoplasmic infection. This would deserve to be further scrutinised since intra-city irrigated cultures are extending in Niamey, thus potentially increasing Toxoplasma circulation in this yet semi-arid region. As far as we are aware of, our study is one of the rare surveys of its kind performed in Sub-Saharan Africa and the first one ever conducted in the Sahel.

Keywords
Toxoplasma gondii; epidemiology; zoonotic disease; Africa; Sahel

 
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