Publications by authors named "Joao Mega"

Parasitic infections of the gastrointestinal tract of domestic animals play a major role in the transmission of disease, which in turn may result in financial and productive losses. Notwithstanding, studies on the burden and distribution of diarrheagenic protists in zoological gardens are still insufficient. Given the close animal-animal and animal-human interaction in these settings, Public Health concerns under the One Health context are raised.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

is a zoonotic enteric protozoan parasite of public veterinary health relevance and a concern in animal production and food safety. While wild cervids are recognized reservoirs for several zoonotic pathogens, little is known about the occurrence of in deer species, especially in Europe. To fill this gap, a total of 130 fecal samples from legally hunted red deer (, = 95) and fallow deer (, = 35) were passively collected during two hunting seasons (October to February; 2018-2019 and 2019-2020) in Portugal.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2) is associated with several syndromes affecting swine, also known as porcine-circovirus-associated diseases, of which post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome stands out due to its high economic impact on swine production. Recent data suggest the increasing circulation of the PCV-2d genotype in several countries worldwide. To provide updated data on PCV-2 genotypes currently circulating in swine in Portugal, we screened wild boar stools collected from several districts across Portugal, during the 2018-2020 hunting seasons, for PCV-2 and genetically characterized detected strains.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF