<i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> DNA in Tissues of Anadromous Arctic Charr, <i>Salvelinus alpinus</i>, Collected From Nunavik, Québec, Canada
Although the presence of T. gondii DNA in brain and heart tissues of Arctic charr is very intriguing, infection in these fish, and their possible role in the transmission of this parasite to humans and marine mammals, will need to be confirmed using mouse bioassays. Arctic charr are likely exposed to T. gondii through the ingestion of oocysts transported by surface water and ocean currents from more southerly regions where the definitive felid hosts are more abundant. If infection in Arctic charr can be confirmed, it is possible that these fish could play an important role in the transmission of toxoplasmosis to Inuit, either directly through the consumption of raw fish or indirectly through the infection of fish-eating marine mammals harvested as country foods.
Authors
- Shawna Zhu
- Sarah J. Reiling (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4444-0457)
- Mahdid Meymandy
- Sara Bolduc (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7533-0248)
- Brent R. Dixon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0390-9661)
- Julien Mainguy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9532-5550)
- Renessa Gomes
- Harriet Merks
Institutions
- Health Canada (CA)
- Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts (CA)
- Université Laval (CA)
- Ministère de l’Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Zoonoses and Public Health
- Published
- 2024-09-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/zph.13175
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Toxoplasma gondii Research Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.06
Funders
- Université Laval
- Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec
- Health Canada