The Marsupial Didelphis albiventris is an Improbable Host of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis in an Endemic Area of Paracoccidioidomycosis in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Vol. 96(6): 771-772, August 2001

ML Silva-Vergara/⁺, R Martinez*, MEB Malta*, LE Ramirez, FA Franco

Disciplina de Doenças Infecciosas e Parasitárias, Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina do Triângulo Mineiro, Av. Getúlio Guaritá, s/nº, 38001-970, Uberaba, MG, Brasil *Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil

To determine whether Didelphis albiventris is naturally infected with Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, 20 specimens of this mammal were studied by both direct cultivation of their viscera (spleen, liver and lungs) and by inoculation of Swiss mice by the intraperitoneal route with a suspension of fragments of these viscera. No fungal growth or structures similar to this fungus were detected. Probably D. albiventris is not frequently infected with P. brasiliensis.

Key words: Didelphis albiventris - Paracoccidioides brasiliensis - marsupial - paracoccidioidomycosis - Minas Gerais - Brazil

Despite many attempts to naturally isolate of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, the ecological niche of this fungus is still a mystery for mycologists on the American Continent (Restrepo 1985). Only occasionally was this microorganism naturally recovered from soil (Albornoz 1971, Silva-Vergara et al. 1998). The isolation of P. brasiliensis from armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) in several regions of Brazil (Naiff et al. 1986, Bagagli et al. 1998, Silva-Vergara & Martinez 1999, Silva-Vergara et al. 2000) and, more recently, in Colombia (Corredor et al. 1999) has raised the interest in the study of this and other wild animals, especially those whose geographical distribution may overlap with that of the fungus (Restrepo-Moreno 1994).

New World marsupials belong to the family Didelphidae, which consists of 65 species included in 12 genera geographically distributed throughout the Continent (Husake 1977). Didelphis marsupialis, one of the most common species, has been found to be naturally infected with Histoplasma capsulatum on several occasions (Taylor & Shaclette 1962). Other marsupial species have also been reported to harbor this microorganism (Emmons et al. 1955, Taylor & Shaclette 1962). The objective of the present study was to evaluate D. albiventris as a possible host of P. brasiliensis in an area where this fungus was recently isolated from soil and recovered from the viscera of D. novemcinctus armadillos.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To Maria Rita de Souza and Lúcia Helena Vital for technical assistance.

REFERENCES

⁺Corresponding author. Fax: +55-34-3318.5279. E-mail: dip_fmtm@mednet.com.br

Received 27 November 2000

Accepted 3 May 2001