Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34213686›Full record

ArticleEcoHealth2021

Sarcocystis neurona Transmission from Opossums to Marine Mammals in the Pacific Northwest.

Alice M O'Byrne, Dyanna M Lambourn, Daniel Rejmanek, Katherine Haman, Michael O'Byrne, Elizabeth VanWormer, Karen Shapiro

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in EcoHealth, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
3.4field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2026
    Article
  2. Parasite genotype is a risk factor forInternational journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Fatal hepatic sarcocystosis in three captive and one free-ranging pinniped.International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2023
    Article
  7. Viability and Desiccation Resistance ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023
    Article
  8. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Alice M O'ByrneSchool of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, D04 W6F6, Ireland.
Dyanna M LambournWildlife Program, WA Department of Fish and Wildlife, 1111 Washington Street SE, Olympia, WA, 98501, USA.
Daniel RejmanekCalifornia Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory, Davis, CA, USA.
Katherine HamanWildlife Program, WA Department of Fish and Wildlife, 1111 Washington Street SE, Olympia, WA, 98501, USA.
Michael O'ByrneUniversity of Göttingen, Wilhelmsplatz 1, 37073, Göttingen, Germany.
Elizabeth VanWormerSchool of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA.
Karen ShapiroPathology, Microbiology and Immunology, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, 4206 VM3A, Davis, CA, 95616-5270, USA. kshapiro@ucdavis.edu.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife · USUniversity College Dublin · IEUniversity of California, Davis · USUniversity of Göttingen · DEUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Increasing reports of marine mammal deaths have been attributed to the parasite Sarcocystis neurona. Infected opossums, the only known definitive hosts, shed S. neurona sporocysts in their feces. Sporocysts can contaminate the marine environment via overland runoff, and subsequent ingestion by marine mammals can lead to fatal encephalitis. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of S. neurona in opossums from coastal areas of Washington State (USA) and to compare genetic markers between S. neurona in opossums and marine mammals. Thirty-two road-kill opossums and tissue samples from 30 stranded marine mammals meeting inclusion criteria were included in analyses. Three opossums (9.4%) and twelve marine mammals (40%) were confirmed positive for S. neurona via DNA amplification at the ITS1 locus. Genetic identity at microsatellites (sn3, sn7, sn9) and the snSAG3 gene of S. neurona was demonstrated among one harbor porpoise and two opossums. Watershed mapping further demonstrated plausible sporocyst transport pathways from one of these opossums to the location where an infected harbor porpoise carcass was recovered. Our results provide the first reported link between S. neurona genotypes on land and sea in the Pacific Northwest, and further demonstrate how terrestrial pathogen pollution can impact the health of marine wildlife.

Indexed as

CaniformiaDidelphisSarcocystisSarcocystosisAnimalsNorthwestern United StatesGroundwaterMarine mammalsOpossumsSarcocystis neuronaTransmissionWatershed

Identifiers

PMID34213686
PMCPMC8367900
OpenAlexW3174200405

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.