Isolation and characterization of Toxoplasma gondii from small ruminants (sheep and goats) in Chennai City, South India

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) caused by Mycobacterium (M.) bovis and M. caprae is a transmissible disease of livestock, notifiable to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). BTB particularly affects cattle and small ruminants and can be transmitted to humans thereby posing a significant threat to veterinary and public health worldwide. M. bovis is the principal cause of bTB in Algeria. In order to better understand the route of spreading and elaborate an eradication program, isolation and characterization of mycobacteria from Algerian cattle was performed. Sixty strains belonging to the M. tuberculosis complex were analyzed by spoligotyping, thereof 42 by 19-locus-MIRU-VNTR-typing. Spoligotyping revealed 16 distinguishable patterns (Hunter-Gaston discriminatory index [HGDI] of 0.8294), with types SB0120 (n = 20) and SB0121 (n = 13) being the most frequent patterns, representing 55% of the strains. Analyses based on 19-locus-MIRU-VNTR yielded 32 different profiles, five clusters and one orphan pattern, showing higher discriminatory power (HGDI = 0.9779) than spoligotyping. Seven VNTR-loci [VNTR 577 (alias ETR C), 2163b (QU11b), 2165 (ETR A), 2461 (ETR B), 3007 (MIRU 27), 2163a (QUB11a) and 3232 (QUB 3232)] were the most discriminative loci (HGDI ˃ 0.50). In conclusion, 19-locus-MIRU-VNTR yielded more information than spoligotyping concerning molecular differentiation of strains and better supports the elucidation of transmission routes of M. bovis between Algerian cattle herds.

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Isolation and characterization of a subtractive library enriched for developmentally regulated transcripts expressed during encystation of Toxoplasma gondii

Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology ◽

10.1016/s0166-6851(99)00019-5 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 99 (2) ◽

pp. 223-235 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

Bilel Yahiaoui ◽

Florence Dzierszinski ◽

Annie Bernigaud ◽

Christian Slomianny ◽

Daniel Camus ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Toxoplasma Gondii ◽

Developmentally Regulated ◽

Subtractive Library ◽

Isolation And Characterization

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Seroconversion to Brucella spp. and Toxoplasma gondii in Sheep and Goats in Dohuk Province, Iraq and Its Association with Pregnancy Loss

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11030836 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 836

Author(s):

Ali Al Hamada ◽

Ihab Habib ◽

Mieghan Bruce ◽

Anne Barnes ◽

Ian D. Robertson

Keyword(s):

Toxoplasma Gondii ◽

Immunosorbent Assay ◽

Ultrasound Examination ◽

Small Ruminants ◽

Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽

Sheep And Goats ◽

Northern Iraq ◽

Incidence Risk ◽

In Series ◽

The Impact

In this study, sera from 240 small ruminants (192 sheep and 48 goats) belonging to 12 farms in Dohuk Province, northern Iraq, were collected on two occasions to investigate the incidence risk of seroconversion to Brucella spp. and Toxoplasma gondii. All selected animals were confirmed pregnant (approximately 2 months pregnant) by ultrasound examination at the time of the first blood collection. A second ultrasound examination and blood sampling were undertaken two months after the initial scanning/sampling. Antibodies to Brucella were tested using the Rose Bengal Test (RBT) and an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA), and the results were interpreted in series. The Latex Agglutination Test (LAT) and an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) were also used in series to confirm the presence of antibodies to T. gondii. The seroprevalence for Brucella and Toxoplasma increased significantly between the two sampling times (p = 0.0003 and 0.03 in first and second sampling, respectively). The incidence risk of seroconversion to Brucella over the two months was 10.6% (95% CI: 6.9–15.3) and 7.3% (95% CI: 4.3–11.6) for Toxoplasma. Animals that seroconverted to Brucella were 2.9 times more likely to lose their pregnancy (95% CI: 1.6–5.5) than animals that remained seronegative; however, seroconversion to Toxoplasma had no significant impact on loss of pregnancy. This study is the first reported investigation on the association of seroconversion to Brucella and Toxoplasma with the reproductive outcome of pregnant sheep and goats in northern Iraq. Brucellosis and toxoplasmosis continue to negatively impact small ruminants' reproductive performance and compromising food security in Iraq. It is hoped that this study will assist the development of a better-informed economic model to estimate Brucella and Toxoplasma burden in small animals in northern Iraq, and such a model could be used to validate the impact of various potential intervention programs in.

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