TABLE I. Comparisons of SVL, mean intensity (MI), and time until death of juvenile American toads, Bufo americanus, and juvenile wood frogs, Rana sylvatica, infected with maggots of Bufolucilia species from southeastern Wisconsin

Toxoplasma gondii isolates can be grouped into 3 genetic lineages. Type I isolates are considered virulent to outbred mice, whereas Type II and III isolates are not. In the present report, viable T. gondii was isolated for the first time from striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis), Canada goose (Branta canadensis), and black-winged lory (Eos cyanogenia). For the isolation of T. gondii, tissues were bioassayed in mice, and genotyping was based on the SAG2 locus. Toxoplasma gondii was isolated from 3 of 6 skunks, 1 of 4 Canada geese, and 2 of 2 feral cats (Felis catus) from Mississippi. All donor animals were asymptomatic. Viable T. gondii was also isolated from 5 of 5 lories that had died of acute toxoplasmosis in an aviary in South Carolina. Genotypes of T. gondii isolates were Type III (all skunks, lories, and the goose) and Type II (both cats). All 5 Type III isolates from birds and 2 of the 3 isolates from skunks were mouse virulent. Toxoplasma gondii infections are widely prevalent in human beings and animals worldwide (Dubey and Beattie, 1988; Tenter et al., 2000). Postnatally, humans become infected by ingesting tissue cysts from undercooked meat or consuming food or drink contaminated with oocysts. However, only a small percentage of exposed adult humans develop clinical signs after exposure. It is not known whether the severity of 1172 THE JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY, VOL. 90, NO. 5, OCTOBER 2004 TABLE I. Isolation of Toxoplasma gondii from animals.