Wild boar (Sus scrofa) was introduced in many countries of the world and is recognized as carrier of many infectious diseases. Wild game meat consumption is recognized as a source of transmission of Toxoplasma gondii and Trichinella spp. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of antibodies to T. gondii and Trichinella spp. in free-range wild boars in Northeastern Argentine Patagonia. Between 2014 and 2018, 144 blood samples and 423 muscle samples from 423 carcasses were collected. To detect T. gondii IgG, 144 sera were processed by an immunofluorescent antibody test, and to detect anti-Trichinella IgG, 125 sera and 304 muscle juice samples were processed by ELISA. Detection of first stage larvae in muscle was performed by artificial digestion. A total of 423 wild boars muscle samples were negative to Trichinella spp. by artificial digestion. Antibodies to Trichinella spp. were detected in 2.4% (3/125) of serum samples and in 1.64% (5/304) of meat juice samples. Antibodies to T. gondii infection were detected in 12.5% (18/144) of the serum samples. This is the first study to reveal the presence of antibodies to T. gondii in wild boars from Argentina. The present results suggest that consumption of raw or undercooked wild boar meat could represent a potential source risk for toxoplasmosis in humans and that Trichinella spp. is infrequent and/or that it circulates in low burdens among wild boars in Northeastern Patagonia.

This study presents the molecular detection of Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae and Ehrlichia sp. in Amblyomma pseudoconcolor Aragão, 1908 (Acari: Ixodidae) collected on a large hairy armadillo (Chaetophractus villosus (Desmarest, 1804)). On 12 October 2020, a specimen of C. villosus was found dead on the road in Río Negro province, Argentina. Molecular detection of Rickettsia and Ehrlichia agents was performed amplifying the gltA and 16S rRNA gene, respectively. One tick, determined morphologically and genetically as A. pseudoconcolor, was collected on C. villosus. The rickettsial agent detected in A. pseudoconcolor was identified as Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae. The Ehrlichia sp. strain showed high sequence similarity to different uncultured Ehrlichia sp. detected in horses, capybaras and Ixodes ornithorhynchi from Nicaragua, Brazil and Australia, respectively. The results of this study and previous findings suggest that A. pseudoconcolor may be a potential vector of some Rickettsia and Ehrlichia bacteria of unknown pathogenicity.

Trichinellosis is a food-borne parasitic disease produced by different nematodes of the genus Trichinella. In Argentina, it is an endemic zoonosis and an important public health problem. The infection has been detected in domestic and wild animals. Trichinella spp. muscle larvae have anaerobic metabolism, which allows their survival in decaying tissues. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of Trichinella spp. in carnivorous and/or scavenger wild vertebrates - birds, mammals and reptiles - in northeastern Argentine Patagonia. Skeletal muscle samples from 141 animals, which were found killed on northeastern Argentine Patagonia roads, were analyzed by the artificial digestion method. None of the 141 samples were positive for larvae of Trichinella. These results suggest that Trichinella does not use these species to complete its cycle in this region of the continent and the absence of a significant alteration in the study area makes it difficult to transmit parasitic diseases. However, due to the limited number of samples assessed for some species, this could not be confirmed. The relevance of this study resides in the fact that it is the first systematic study in South America that considers birds, reptiles and mammals as potential hosts for Trichinella.