Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41402512›Full record

ArticleParasitology research2025

Serological and molecular detection of Toxoplasma gondii in naturally infected red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from Victoria, Australia.

Leonardo Brustenga, K L D Tharaka D Liyanage, Panayiotis Loukopoulos, Megan Fisher, Jessica Haining, Charles G Gauci, Livia Lucentini, Alessandro D Uboldi, Christopher J Tonkin, Giulia Morganti and 5 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Parasitology research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Molecular detection of shared pathogens in red foxes (One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2026
    Article
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

15 authors.

Leonardo BrustengaDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy. leonardo.brustenga@dottorandi.unipg.it.
K L D Tharaka D LiyanageDepartment of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, VIC, Australia.
Panayiotis LoukopoulosDepartment of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, VIC, Australia.
Megan FisherDepartment of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, VIC, Australia.
Jessica HainingDepartment of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, VIC, Australia.
Charles G GauciDepartment of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, VIC, Australia.
Livia LucentiniDepartment of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
Alessandro D UboldiDepartment of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
Christopher J TonkinDepartment of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
Giulia MorgantiDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
Giulia RigamontiDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
Fabrizio PassamontiDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
Fabrizia VeronesiDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
Abdul JabbarDepartment of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, VIC, Australia.
Jasmin HufschmidDepartment of Veterinary Biosciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Werribee, VIC, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic parasite with a global distribution that can infect a wide range of warm-blooded hosts. This study investigated, for the first time, the seroprevalence and genetic variability of T. gondii in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from Victoria, Australia. Animals from both regional Victoria and the metropolitan Melbourne area were sourced from trappers and shooters involved in pest control. Sera were screened for anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies using a modified agglutination test, and tissue samples were tested using a qPCR assay targeting the 529 bp repeated element. qPCR positive samples were genotyped using a five-marker (L358, 5'SAG2, 3'SAG2, c22-8, GRA6) polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism protocol. Anti-T. gondii antibodies were detected in 38.9% (30/77) of foxes, and parasite DNA was identified in 23.4% (18/77) of animals. Genotyping revealed a predominance of T. gondii clonal Type II whereas two isolates showed new alleles attributable to Type II-like genotypes. These findings suggest that Australian red foxes are frequently exposed to T. gondii and may play an important role as epidemiological sentinels to assess the circulation of T. gondii in the Australian environment, with implications for both wildlife conservation and public health.

Indexed as

Antibodies, ProtozoanFoxesToxoplasmaToxoplasmosis, AnimalAgglutination TestsAnimalsDNA, ProtozoanGenetic VariationGenotypeImmunoglobulin GPolymorphism, Restriction Fragment LengthReal-Time Polymerase Chain ReactionSeroepidemiologic StudiesVictoriaAntibodies, ProtozoanDNA, ProtozoanImmunoglobulin GAustraliaRed foxToxoplasma gondiiVictoriaVulpes vulpes

Identifiers

PMID41402512
PMCPMC12711960

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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.