Poxvirus and Toxoplasma gondii co-infection in a free-ranging Paraguayan hairy dwarf porcupine (Coendou spinosus), Brazil

Abstract

A Brazilian porcupine poxvirus (BPoPV) and Toxoplasma gondii co-infection case in a free-ranging Paraguayan hairydwarf porcupine (Coendou spinosus) is described. An adult female porcupine was rescued in a peri-urban region ofthe city of São Paulo. It presented poor general condition and multiple erythematous to ulcerated nodules and crustedcutaneous plaques in the face, ear, front and hind limbs, and genital region. Skin lesions and hepatomegaly were themajor gross lesions. Hyperplastic ulcerated epidermis and myxomatous edema in dermis associated with interstitiallymphoplasmocytic and histiocytic infiltrate were the microscopic findings. Multiple eosinophilic intracytoplasmicinclusions in keratinocytes of the epidermis and hair follicle, sebocytes, histiocytes, and fibroblasts were observed. Theprotozoan cyst was associated with non-suppurative meningoencephalitis and glial nodules in the cerebral cortex. BPoPVinfection was confirmed by immunohistochemistry and molecular analysis, and T. gondii co-infection was confirmedby molecular investigation. In conclusion, neotropical porcupines are susceptible to co-infection with poxvirus andToxoplasma gondii, and the impact of this interaction needs to be further clarified.