부산대학교 도서관

Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most common protozoan parasites globally and requires both a definitive and an intermediate host to complete its life cycle. The population of wild sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis) in eastern Hokkaido, Japan, has recently increased and is considered a potential intermediate host of T. gondii. In this study, the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in 201 wild sika deer from 10 geographical regions in eastern Hokkaido in 2010 and 2011 was analyzed using the latex agglutination test. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in three cases (1.5% of samples), suggesting that deer have started to function as intermediate hosts. This is the first report of seropositivity against T. gondii in wild sika deer in eastern Hokkaido.