Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic infection caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The infection is widely disseminated in the human population and is usually benign or asymptomatic. Systemic T. gondii infection presents risks for pregnant women and AIDS patients. Although rare, T. gondii can cause outbreaks in urban centers. The origin of these outbreaks is not completely understood but probably results from introduction of zoonotic T. gondii strains in the population. During such outbreaks other pathogens which mimic T. gondii acute febrile syndrome may also circulate; therefore, detailed investigation of the outbreak is of extreme importance. In this study we performed viral metagenomics next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in patient samples obtained during T. gondii outbreak in Santa Maria city, South Brazil. Specific bioinformatics pipelines specialized in virus discovery were applied in order to identify co-circulating vial agents. Epstein Barr virus and Parvovirus B19 contigs were assembled and these viruses can cause symptoms similar to toxoplasmosis. In conclusion, our findings show the importance of Metagenomics next generation sequencing (mNGS) use to help characterize the outbreak more completely and in the management of the affected patients.

弓形虫病是一种由原生动物寄生虫弓形虫引起的人畜共患感染。这种感染在人群中广泛传播，通常是良性的或无症状的。全身性弓形虫感染会给孕妇和艾滋病患者带来风险。虽然罕见，但弓形虫可在城市中心引起暴发。这些暴发的起源尚不完全清楚，但可能是由于在人群中引入了人畜共患T. gondii菌株。在此类爆发期间，其他模仿T. gondii的病原体急性发热综合征也可能循环；因此，对疫情的详细调查极为重要。在这项研究中，我们对巴西南部圣玛丽亚市弓形虫爆发期间获得的患者样本进行了病毒宏基因组学下一代测序 (mNGS) 。应用了专门用于病毒发现的特定生物信息学管道，以识别共同循环的小瓶试剂。Epstein Barr 病毒和细小病毒 B19 重叠群被组装起来，这些病毒可引起类似于弓形虫病的症状。总之，我们的研究结果显示了宏基因组学下一代测序 (mNGS) 用于帮助更全面地描述疫情和管理受影响患者的重要性。