Prevalência de Cryptosporidium serpentis em serpentes de cativeiro Prevalence of Cryptosporidium serpentis in captive snakes

Cryptosporidium é um protozoário encontrado em uma grande variedade de espécies animais como responsável por casos de gastrite e enterite, porém com epidemiologia pouco conhecida em animais silvestres. A presente investigação teve como objetivo avaliar a prevalência de Cryptosporidium serpentis em lavado gástrico de serpentes mantidas em cativeiro no serpentário do Instituto Butantan (São Paulo, Brasil). A coleta foi realizada uma semana após alimentação, evitando, assim, a regurgitação devido à manipulação. Foram realizados esfregaços do sedimento do lavado gástrico, obtido por centrifugação, corados pela técnica de coloração de Kinyoun. Parte do sedimento foi submetido à técnica de RFLP-PCR para identificação da espécie de Cryptosporidium. O serpentário é dividido em três seções, por espécie - a primeira com oito jibóias (Boa constrictor amarali), a segunda com dez jararacas (Bothropoides jararaca) e a última com sete cascavéis (Caudisona durissa). A prevalência de C. serpentis encontrada neste estudo para as serpentes C. durissa, B. jararaca e Boa c. amarali, foi de 57,14% (04/07), 40% (04/10) e 37,5% (03/08), respectivamente, revelando importante ocorrência desse protozoário em serpentes de cativeiro. Apesar da alta prevalência encontrada, apenas as jiboias apresentaram sintomas como perda de peso e regurgitação, refletindo uma sensibilidade diferente da espécie para C. serpentis.<br>Cryptosporidium is a protozoan found in a wide variety of animal species which is responsible for gastritis and enteritis, but its epidemiology is poorly known in wild animals. The present investigation aimed to evaluate the prevalence of Cryptosporidium serpentis in gastric aspirate of captive snakes from the public serpentarium of the Butantan Institute (São Paulo, Brazil). Sampling was performed preferably one week after feeding, thereby preventing regurgitation due to manipulation. Smears were done from the gastric aspirate sediment obtained by centrifugation and stained by Kinyoun technique. Part of the pellet was submitted to RFLP-PCR technique for amplification of Cryptosporidium segment (833bp, CSP01) of SSU rRNA gene. The serpentarium was divided in three sections by species - the first housing eight Amaral&acute;s Boa (Boa constrictor amarali), the second with ten jararacas (Bothropoides jararaca) and the last one with seven south american rattlesnakes (Caudisona durissa). The prevalence of C. serpentis found in this study for the snakes C. durissa, B. jararaca and B. constrictor was 57.14% (04/07), 40% (04/10) and 37.5% (03/08), respectively, thus revealing the high occurrence of this protozoan among captive snakes. Despite the high prevalence found, only B. constrictor amarali presented symptoms as regurgitation and weight loss, probably due to a different sensibility of this species to C. serpentis

Relato de caso de Lagochilascariose humana procedente do Estado do Pará, Brasil Report a case of human lagochilascariasis coming from the Pará State, Brazil

Mais um caso de lagochilascariose em criança procedente do Município de Xinguara PA. No Hospital das Clínicas da UFG, foi feita drenagem do abscesso localizado na região cervical direita, constatando-se a presença de ovos e vermes adultos de Lagochilascaris minor. Instituída terapia com albendazol 400mg/dia (durante 30 dias) e antibioticoterapia, houve regressão do quadro clinico.<br>A new case of lagochilascariasis is reported in a child from Xinguara PA, Brazil. The patient had an abscess in the right cervical region, which was drained at the Clinical Hospital of UFG. Eggs and adult stages of Lagochilascaris minor were found in the secretion of the abscess. Treatment with albendazol, at a dosage of 400mg/day for 30 days, associated with antibiotics promoted regression of the lesion

Sperm cryopreservation in wild animals

Extinction of a species represents the loss of a resource evolved through eons of mutations and natural selection. Reproductive technologies, including artificial insemination, embryo transfer, in vitro fertilization, gamete/embryo micromanipulation, semen sexing, and genome resource banking (GRB) have all been developed with the aim of solving existing problems and preserving genetic material for conservation purposes. Although protocols from domestic or non-threatened related species have been extrapolated to nondomestic and endangered species, usually these reproductive technologies are species-specific and inefficient in many nondomestic species because of insufficient knowledge on their basic reproduction biology and the need for species-specific customization. Since spermatozoa are usually more accessible and come in large numbers compared to oocytes and embryos, they are considered the primary cell type preserved in most emerging GRBs. For this purpose, semen from endangered species is currently cryopreserved to avail long-term storage. Due to the intractability of most exotic species, semen collection without chemical restraint is limited to only a handful of species and individuals. Viable epididymal spermatozoa can be obtained from dead or castrated animals, but this resource is limited. Electroejaculation, artificial vagina, abdominal massage, and/or transrectal, ultrasound-guided, massage of the accessory sex glands of living animals are viable alternative methods of semen collection. The ultimate goal is to adapt and optimize collection and cryopreservation protocols for each species, making it feasible, among other things, to collect gametes in the wild and introduce them into captive or isolated populations to increase genetic diversity. Recent advances in these fields have allowed the establishment of GRBs for many threatened species. © 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg