Marine leech Ozobranchus margoi parasitizing loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Rodenbusch,Carla Rosane
• Data de Publicação: 2012
• Outros Autores: Marks,Fernanda Simone, Canal,Cláudio Wageck, Reck,José
• Tipo de documento: Relatório
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1984-29612012000300023
• topic: Ozobranchus margoi; Hirudinea; leech; loggerhead turtle; ectoparasite

This paper reports the finding of several Ozobranchus margoi (Annelida: Hirudinea) parasitizing a loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) that was found in the municipality of Tavares, state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Since this parasite is considered to be a vector of chelonid herpesvirus 5 (ChHV-5), the leeches collected were tested for the presence of this virus. All the specimens were negative on PCR analysis. Although O. margoi is considered to be a common sea turtle parasite, this is the first official record describing collection of this parasite from a loggerhead turtle in southern Brazil, within the country's subtropical zone. This finding draws attention to the presence of this parasite and to the risk of leech-borne infectious diseases among turtles found along the coast of southern Brazil.