1. INTRODUCTION
Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) may be the most successful parasite
in the world, as it has a global distribution and can infect almost all
warm-blooded animal species (Su et al., 2010; Dubey, 2010;
Robert-Gangneux et al., 2012). Infections occur by ingestion or
transplacentally (Dubey, 2010). Felids are their only definitive host
(Vitaliano et al., 2014). Recent molecular studies have revealed a
genotype diversity worldwide, with the largest genetic diversity in
South America (Robert-Gangneux et al., 2012), specifically in Brazil
(Pena et al., 2011), with reports of strains with resistance to
sulfadiazine and pyrimethamine in human treatments (Bessa et al., 2021).
Among the intermediate hosts, rodents (order Rodentia) play an important
role in maintaining the life cycle of T. gondii , as they are one
of the main food sources for wild felids (Galeh et al., 2021; Brito Jr
et al., 2020; Horta et al., 2018; Gennari et al., 2015). Although
histopathological lesions induced by T. gondii in rodents and
other animals are suggestive of the disease, their morphological
similarities with other apicomplexa require additional diagnostic tests,
such as molecular and immunohistochemical exams (Harrison et al., 2007;
Gardner, Payer et al., 1999).
South American porcupines belong to the Erethizontidae family. Their
weight can reach up to 5 kg, and they are known for their prehensile
tail used to carry out their daily activities, mainly in trees. Their
diets are mainly based on leaves, fruits, and bark (Roze, 2012). The
hairy dwarf porcupine Sphiggurus spinosus (F. Cuvier, 1823) has a
wide distribution in northeastern Argentina, southeastern Brazil,
eastern Paraguay, and northern Uruguay (Barthelmess et al., 2016; Voss,
2015). This species is found in a wide range of Brazilian habitats,
including the Cerrado, the Pantanal, and the Atlantic Forest. This
species is categorized as Least Concern (LC) according to the red list
of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and has
been included in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix III since 1976.
Although the South American porcupines have a continental distribution
due to their cryptic habits, the knowledge about their ecological and
sanitary aspects is limited. This study reports the microscopic,
immunohistochemical, and molecular features of toxoplasmosis in a
free-ranging hairy dwarf porcupine in Brazil.
Among reports of toxoplasmosis in porcupines, Morales, Peña, and Dubey
(1996) confirmed the first T. gondii in neotropical porcupines
through histopathological and IHC analysis in a captive Sphiggurus
mexicanus in Costa Rica. There are also reports in a Hystrix
cristata (Harrison et al., 2007), three Chaetomys subspinasusfrom Brazil (Bezerra et al., 2015), and one Erethizontidae sp. in
Germany (Fayyad et al., 2017).