Hedgehogs (Mammalia: Erinaceidae) are omnivorous nocturnal animals typically living in anthropogenic areas. They may be suitable as sentinels for a wide range of zoonotic infections. Only a few studies have investigated hedgehogs (and then as representative wildlife species) to establish their role in the life cycle of such tissue parasites with zoonotic potential as Toxoplasma gondii or Trichinella spp. Working with frozen hedgehog cadavers, we tested for these parasites using T. gondii DNA-specific magnetic capture isolation plus polymerase chain reaction and Trichinella spp. digestion assay. All of 50 examined hedgehogs were negative for Trichinella spp. larvae in their muscles, but brain tissue from 5 out of 26 Erinaceus europaeus (19.2%) and 4 out of 24 E. roumanicus (16.6%) tested positive for T. gondii DNA. Frequency of T. gondii for both hedgehog species was equal, as was distribution between males and females and across age categories. Although a few studies have suggested the possibility of Trichinella spp. infection in hedgehogs, the zero prevalence in the tested hedgehogs is not surprising in view of the generally low prevalence of Trichinella spp. in Central Europe. Our results show that hedgehogs are susceptible to infection by T. gondii and can be used as indicator wildlife animal species in anthropogenic ecosystems.

• Klíčová slova
• Erinaceus europaeus, Erinaceus roumanicus, Sentinel animal, Wild mammals, Zoonosis,
• MeSH
• divoká zvířata parazitologie   MeSH
• ježkovití parazitologie   MeSH
• larva genetika   MeSH
• polymerázová řetězová reakce MeSH
• protozoální DNA genetika   MeSH
• Toxoplasma genetika   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• toxoplazmóza zvířat epidemiologie   parazitologie   MeSH
• Trichinella klasifikace   genetika   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• trichinelóza epidemiologie   parazitologie   veterinární   MeSH
• zoonózy MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH
• Evropa epidemiologie   MeSH
• Názvy látek
• protozoální DNA MeSH