Paleoparasitological analysis of a coprolite assigned to a carnivoran mammal from the Upper Pleistocene Touro Passo Formation, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

A paleoparasitological analysis was carried out on a large coprolite assigned to a carnivoran mammal, recovered from the Municipality of Uruguaiana, in the western region of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where the Upper Pleistocene Touro Passo Formation crops out. For this, an individual sample was extracted from the specimen using an electric drill, dissociated with 10% hydrochloric acid solution, washed with distilled water, and sifted through a 500 mesh Tyler sieve. After laboratory processing, the sediment retained on the sieve was mixed with glycerin and examined by optical microscopy, which revealed the presence of 14 protozoan oocysts and three nematode eggs. The morphological characteristics of the oocysts (i.e., spherical shape, thick-walled, internal zygote apparently at the beginning of sporulation, as well as their size) and of the eggs (i.e., ovoidal shape, rounded ends, smooth surface, thin-shelled, embryo in their interior, along with their morphometry) suggest that these specimens belong respectively to the orders Eucoccidiorida and Strongylida (Family Ancylostomatidae) represented by several parasitic species of the alimentary tract of modern carnivore. This is the first record of paleoparasites discovered in a vertebrate host from the Touro Passo Formation.

Molecular detection of fungi of public health importance in wild animals from Southern Brazil.

Some animals have an important relationship with fungal infections, and searching for pathogens in animal samples may be an opportunity for eco-epidemiological research. Since studies involving wildlife are generally restricted, using samples from road kills is an alternative. The aim of this study was to verify whether pathogenic fungi of public health importance occur in wildlife road kills from Santa Catarina State, Brazil. Organ samples (n = 1063) from 297 animals were analysed according to Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) using universal primers to detect fungi in general and, subsequently, using primers specific to Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Histoplasma capsulatum and Cryptococcus spp. There were 102 samples positive for fungal species. Eight samples were positive for P. brasiliensis, three samples were positive for Cryptococcus spp. and one sample had coinfection by these two fungi. No sample was positive for Histoplasma spp. according to the molecular detection. Genetic sequencing allowed the identification of Fungal sp. in 89 samples, Cryptococcus neoformans in two samples and Aspergillus penicillioides in three samples. This study shows the importance of wild animals in the epidemiology of fungal infections and assists in the mapping of pathogen occurrence in a region that was not previously evaluated.