First report on the prevalence of Klossiella muris in Mus musculus for S. Miguel Island - Azores (Portugal).

ABSTRACT

Klossiella is a genus of apicomplexan coccidian parasites with a global distribution, whose members typically infect the renal tissue of a wide variety of vertebrate hosts with a high level of host specificity. The presence of this parasite has been previously associated with kidney inflammatory processes. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the prevalence of Klossiella muris in the house mouse (Mus musculus) in Portugal (São Miguel Island - Azores). The prevalence of K. muris was determined through histopathological examination of renal tissue collected during necropsy of 130 mice captured between the years of 2011-2019. K. muris was diagnosed in 45.38% (CI95 40.9-85.4) of the examined mice. Infection with this parasite was associated with mild to severe kidney inflammation, assessed by the presence of inflammatory processes in the renal cortex and medulla. CAPSULE First record on coccidiosis caused by infection of Klossiella muris in Mus musculus in Portugal.