High Prevalence of Sarcocystis in a Collapsed Black Rat (Rattus rattus) Population from the Florida Keys.

Abstract

We collected and screened black rats (Rattus rattus) in Key Largo, Florida, USA, to determine the potential role of disease or parasites in the collapse of the local population. Rats appeared healthy, but 94% (n=15/16) tested positive for Sarcocystis sp. The partial 18S rRNA gene sequence was 98.7-99.7% similar to a strain of Sarcocystis zuoi that is now considered a strain of the newly described Sarcocystis kani within the larger S. zuoi species complex that contains numerous new species. These Sarcocystis spp. use Asian snakes as definitive hosts and rodents, shrews, or tree shrews as intermediate hosts. Pythons are the definitive host for several Sarcocystis spp. in Asia, including a related parasite (Sarcocystis singaporensis) that has been used as a biologic control agent for Rattus spp. in southeast Asia. It is probable that increasing numbers of invasive Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) in the Florida Keys are contributing to the spread of this parasite in addition to imposing predation pressure on both rodents and native snakes. As such, further surveillance and molecular and morphologic characterization of parasites from rodents and snakes in south Florida should be prioritized.