The First Case of Toxoplasma gondii in Domestic Ducks in Argentina

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Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii was isolated from young domestic ducks on a farm near the Estacion Experimental Agrapecuaria de Colonia Benitez I.N.T.A. (Chaco). Mortality in a flock of 100 was 50%. Signs of the disease were somnolence, pasted eyelids, marked nervousness, paralysis of the feet, and tremors ending in death. The most typical lesions were found in the livers of all the cases studied. There were miliary punctate necrotic foci. Microscopically the lesions were marked cloudy degeneration and cellular necrosis. Impressions and smears from the spleen, liver, and peritoneal fluid revealed typical forms like sections of an orange 5-7 [mu] long, with one end wider than the other, where a clearly defined nucleus was located. These forms were identified as Toxoplasma gondii. Suspensions of spleen, lungs, liver, and brain inoculated into Swiss mice induced the infection in the brains and peritoneal cavity, with abdominal enlargement and death after 6 days and 10 to 12 days respectively. Three of 5 guinea pigs died 6-12 days after intraperitoneal injection, and T. gondii were found in smears from these animals. Two rabbits inoculated intraperitoneally remained normal for one month. Although no organisms could be demonstrated from smears of the organs, 3 serial passages in Swiss mice of the organ suspensions did reveal the organism. This finding opens a new chapter in avian pathology in Argentina. Its possible relationship in human infection emphasizes its importance as a zoonosis.

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