Toxoplasma gondii infection in meat-producing small ruminants: Meat juice serology and genotyping

Toxoplasma gondii is an important food-borne zoonoses. Free-range chickens are at particularly high risk of infection and are also excellent indicators of soil contamination by oocysts. In the present study, hearts of 77 free-range chickens were collected at slaughter. T. gondii meat juice ELISA was performed with a commercial kit, following validation with positive controls, from experimentally infected chickens, and negative ones. Out of 77 samples, only 66 gave sufficient meat juice for serology. Of these, 24 (36.4%) were positive for T. gondii considering the 5*SD values (calculated on the OD of negative controls) while all the samples were negative considering S/P% values. Parasite-specific PCR was carried out on all samples obtained from heart tissue and none were positive for the presence of T. gondii DNA. Results would suggest that further study on the use of meat juice with a validated serological test to detect T. gondii in chickens could lead to widespread epidemiological studies in this important intermediate host. However, sample collection and test specificity require further evaluation.

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Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Hunted Wild Boars (Sus scrofa): Heart Meat Juice as an Alternative Sample to Serum for the Detection of Antibodies

EcoHealth ◽

10.1007/s10393-015-1073-9 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 685-688 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Catarina Coelho ◽

Ana Patrícia Lopes ◽

João Rodrigo Mesquita ◽

Luís Cardoso ◽

Madalena Vieira-Pinto

Keyword(s):

Toxoplasma Gondii ◽

Sus Scrofa ◽

Wild Boars ◽

Meat Juice ◽

Toxoplasma Gondii Infection

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Seroprevalence and factors associated with Toxoplasma gondii infection in wild boar (Sus scrofa) in a Mediterranean island

Epidemiology and Infection ◽

10.1017/s0950268810000117 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 138 (9) ◽

pp. 1257-1266 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

C. RICHOMME ◽

E. AFONSO ◽

V. TOLON ◽

C. DUCROT ◽

L. HALOS ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Toxoplasma Gondii ◽

Wild Boar ◽

Sus Scrofa ◽

First Year ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Landscape Characteristics ◽

Meat Juice ◽

Modified Agglutination Test ◽

Mediterranean Island ◽

Toxoplasma Gondii Infection

SUMMARYKnowledge of the factors affecting the presence of Toxoplasma gondii in wildlife is limited. Here we analyse which local landscape characteristics are associated with the presence of toxoplasmosis in wild boar, Sus scrofa, on the island of Corsica, France. Meat juice samples from 1399 wild boars collected during two hunting seasons were tested for T. gondii antibodies using the modified agglutination test (titre 1:4). The overall seroprevalence was 0·55 (95% CI 0·50–0·59) for the first year and 0·33 (95% CI 0·29–0·35) for the second year. Seroprevalence varied according to age and county. At the county level, seropositivity in adults was related to farm density during year 1, and to habitat fragmentation, farm density and altitude during year 2. The exposure of wild boar to T. gondii is thus variable according to landscape characteristics and probably results in a variable risk of transmission of toxoplasmosis to humans.

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Evaluation of the Effects of Toxoplasmosis in Small Ruminants on the Epidemiology of Human Toxoplasmosis by Indirect ELISA in Kaleybar Region, North West of Iran

International Journal of Medical Parasitology and Epidemiology Sciences ◽

10.34172/ijmpes.2020.19 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 65-69

Author(s):

Yaghoub Firouzivand ◽

Behrad Khan Ahmadi ◽

Mustafa Afsari

Keyword(s):

Toxoplasma Gondii ◽

Indirect Elisa ◽

Small Ruminants ◽

Human Infection ◽

Chi Square ◽

Sheep And Goats ◽

North West ◽

Significant Difference ◽

East Azerbaijan ◽

Toxoplasma Gondii Infection

Introduction: Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular protozoan that causes toxoplasmosis in humans and domestic animals. It causes abortion, especially in small ruminants. Sheep and goats have a significant role in the maintenance and survival of the parasite as well as its transmission to humans. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in small ruminants in Kaleybar region, East Azerbaijan province, using Indirect ELISA. Materials and Methods: In this study, blood samples of 270 sheep and goats were collected from October 2019 to December 2019 and anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies in sera were evaluated using indirect ELISA. Data analysis was performed using chi-square test in SPSS version 24.0. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Totally, 26 of 270 (9.62%) animals had anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in their sera. Analysis showed that sheep were more susceptible to toxoplasmosis than goats and 21 (10.5%) sheep and 5 (7.14%) goats were seropositive for T. gondii; however, there was no statistically significant difference (P=0.413). The highest frequency (15.87%) of infection was observed in sheep and goats aged 3-4 years, respectively. Moreover, the rate of infection was higher in female (22/205) animals than in males (4/65); however, the relationship between gender and age and the frequency of positive samples was not significant (P=0.276 and P=0.121). Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in small ruminants of the Kaleybar region (North West of Iran) is relatively low compared to other parts of the country. Further studies should be conducted on the rate of infection in definitive hosts of T. gondii in the region as a potential source of human infection.

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Toxoplasma gondii Tetravalent Chimeric Proteins as Novel Antigens for Detection of Specific Immunoglobulin G in Sera of Small Ruminants

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani9121146 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 1146 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lucyna Holec-Gąsior ◽

Bartłomiej Ferra ◽

Weronika Grąźlewska

Keyword(s):

Toxoplasma Gondii ◽

Small Ruminants ◽

Chimeric Protein ◽

High Specificity ◽

Elisa Test ◽

Dense Granule ◽

Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽

Chimeric Proteins ◽

Apical Membrane Antigen 1 ◽

Toxoplasma Gondii Infection

The detection of Toxoplasma gondii infection in small ruminants has important significance for public health and veterinary medicine. This study, for the first time, describes the reactivity of four tetravalent chimeric proteins (AMA1N-SAG2-GRA1-ROP1, AMA1C-SAG2-GRA1-ROP1, AMA1-SAG2-GRA1-ROP1, and SAG2-GRA1-ROP1-GRA2) containing immunodominant regions from the AMA1 (apical membrane antigen 1), SAG2 (surface antigen 2), GRA1 (dense granule antigen 1), GRA2 (dense granule antigen 2), and ROP1 (rhoptry antigen 1) with specific IgG antibodies from the sera of small ruminants with the use of an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The reactivity of individual chimeric antigens was analyzed in relation to the results obtained in IgG ELISA based on a Toxoplasma lysate antigen (TLA). All chimeric proteins were characterized by high specificity (between 96.39% to 100%), whereas the sensitivity of the IgG ELISAs was variable (between 78.49% and 96.77%). The highest sensitivity was observed in the IgG ELISA test based on the AMA1-SAG2-GRA1-ROP1. These data demonstrate that this chimeric protein can be a promising serodiagnostic tool for T. gondii infection in small ruminants.

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