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

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 836
Author(s):  
Ali Al Hamada ◽  
Ihab Habib ◽  
Mieghan Bruce ◽  
Anne Barnes ◽  
Ian D. Robertson

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.

2020 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-261
Author(s):  
Mehmet Engin Malal ◽  
Mustafa Sencer Karagül ◽  
Kadir Akar

The aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of ovine chlamydiosis caused by Chlamydia abortus in sheep and goats in Western Turkey. Chlamydial abortion causes late term abortions with a worldwide occurence particularly in sheep and goats; it also leads to significant financial losses. Seroepidemiological studies provide useful data regarding the prevalence of the disease. Isolation of Chlamydia abortus as the causative agent of the disease is a time consuming and laborious procedure requiring appropriate biosafety measures. Serological methods are commonly used for routine diagnosis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is generally recommended for surveillance studies. In this study, a total of 833 blood samples obtained from 126 herds of sheep and goats located in all provinces of the Marmara region, Western Turkey, were analyzed. Total seroprevalence was found to be 25.81% through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. However, the proportion of seropositive herds was observed at 62.70%, which is higher than the total seroprevalence. This study confirms the presence of Chlamydia abortus exposure in sheep and goat herds in the Marmara region and provides original seroprevalence data in the provinces, which have not been reported so far. The data gathered are useful for the evaluation and elaboration on the seroprevalence of chlamydiosis in small ruminants in the Marmara region, Turkey.


1998 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 749-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Alonso-Urmeneta ◽  
C. Marín ◽  
V. Aragón ◽  
J. M. Blasco ◽  
R. Díaz ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensishave surface lipopolysaccharides and polysaccharides carryingB. melitensis-type (M) and B. abortus-type (A) epitopes as well as common (C) epitopes present in all smooth Brucella biotypes. Crude lipopolysaccharides, hydrolytic O polysaccharides, and native hapten polysaccharides of MC or AC specificity were evaluated in indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays with polyclonal, monoclonal, or protein G conjugates by using sera from cattle, sheep, and goats infected with AC, MC, or AMC Brucella biotypes. Regardless of the antigen, the levels of antibodies were lower in goats than in sheep and highest in cattle. The diagnostic performance of the assay was not affected by the absence of lipid A-core epitopes, the presence of contaminating outer membrane proteins, the AC or MC epitopic structure of the absorbed antigen, or the conjugate used. Moreover, with sera from cattle vaccinated with B. abortus S19 (AC) or from sheep and goats vaccinated with B. melitensis Rev 1 (MC), AC and MC antigens showed similar levels of reactivity. The results show that antibodies to the C epitopes largely dominate in infection, and this is consistent with the existence of multiple overlapping C epitopes (V. Weynants, D. Gilson, A. Cloeckaert, A. Tibor, P. A. Denoel, F. Godfroid, J. N. Limet, and J.-J. Letesson, Infect. Immun. 65:1939–1943, 1997) rather than with one or two C epitopes. It is concluded that, by adaptation to the corresponding antibody levels, brucellosis in cattle, sheep, and goats can be diagnosed by immunosorbent assay with a single combination of conjugate and antigen.


1999 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 483-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
María de la Luz Galván Ramírez ◽  
Guillermo Sánchez Vargas ◽  
Marcos Vielma Sandoval ◽  
Juan Luis Soto Mancilla

Cats are the definitive hosts of Toxoplasma gondii. Infected cats excrete oocysts in their feces, infecting humans and other animals. The objective of the present study was to determine the presence of anti-Toxoplasma antibodies in cat owners and their pets, and determine if there was a relationship between Toxoplasma infection and humans who live with infected cats. IgG anti-Toxoplasma antibodies in sera of 59 cat owners were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), in 24 sera from their cats, IgG, IgM, and IgA antibodies were found using Burney's ELISA. Thirty-eight (64%) of 59 cat owners were positive to IgG anti-Toxoplasma. Seropositivity for cats was 70.8% IgG, 8.3% IgM, and 62.5% IgA. Cohabitation with cats infected by T. gondii, feeding with leftovers or raw viscera, and lack of control over how their feces were handled are risk factors conducive for humans to become infected by T. gondii.


1989 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheryl L. Seefeldt ◽  
Clyde A. Kirkbride ◽  
Jitender P. Dubey

Results obtained in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFA), and a modified direct agglutination test (MAT) for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies from examination of fetal fluids from 377 aborted ovine fetuses were compared. Sixty-seven samples were positive by MAT (titers 1:16 to > 1:65,536), 58 were positive by ELISA, and 62 were positive by immunoglobulin G-IFA. The MAT was preferred because it required less time, labor, and special equipment. It was simple to run, could be done on serum from any species without modification, and it was more effective than the IFA for detecting toxoplasma antibodies in severely autolyzed fetuses. No advantage was found in determining immunoglobulin M antibodies in ovine fetal sera.


Author(s):  
Niranjan Kumar ◽  
Mehul M. Jadav ◽  
Bhupamani Das ◽  
Jaesh B. Solanki

The objective of the present work was to standardize and evaluate indirect plate and dot- enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using purified Paramphistomum epiclitum homologous antigens in the small ruminants. Electrophoretic separation of somatic antigen (PeSAg) in reducing condition on 15% polyacrylamide gel resolved into 16 proteins of the molecular weight ranging from 14 -100 kDa. Two step ethanolic precipitation of supernatant of in-vitro culture of the fluke yielded P. epiclitum excretory-secretory antigen (PeESAg) of molecular weight 28 kDa. The animals (Goats=123; Sheep=91) were broadly kept into post-mortem and faecal examined groups. At many occasion the PeSAg found to cross reacts with other helminths parasites thus minimizing the specificity of the tests and antigens. There was no any direct correlation between the parasites load and ELISA reactivity pattern. The noted prevalence rate after combining the results of post-mortem examination and PeESAg based ELISA (plate and paper/ dot) was 30.08% (37/123) in goats and 28.57% (26/91) in sheep. While using PeESAg, the calculated overall sensitivity% was 92.86 (goats)/ 100 (sheep) in both plate and dot-ELISA, specificity% was 91.58 (goats)/ 91.55 (sheep) in plate ELISA while 88.42 (goats)/ 92.96 (sheep) in dot-ELISA, positive predictive value% was 76.47 (goats)/ 76.92 (sheep) in plate ELISA while 70.27 (goats)/ 80 (sheep) in dot-ELISA and negative predictive value% was 97.75 (goats)/ 100 (sheep) in plate ELISA while 97.67 (goats)/ 100 (sheep) in dot-ELISA, these values were optimum for the field sera sample so the tests and PeESAg can be recommended for the detection P. epiclitum infection in the small ruminants.


2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinhai Yu ◽  
Jun Ding ◽  
Zhaofei Xia ◽  
Degui Lin ◽  
Yili Li ◽  
...  

AbstractSera from 534 pet dogs and 335 pet cats from Beijing (China) were tested for anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or the latex agglutination test. The seropositivity by year, season, sex and age was analysed. Overall, 128 dogs (24.0%) and 50 cats (14.9%) had antibodies to T. gondii. When analysed by season, the highest seroprevalence was found in spring for dogs (31.3%) and cats (25.1%), and the differences in seroprevalence by season was statistically significant in cats (P<0.01) but not in dogs. The seroprevalence in male dogs (23.7%) and cats (15.1%) were slightly higher than their female counterparts (18.0% in dogs and 12.3% in cats). There was no obvious pattern of seropositivity or significant difference in different age groups in dogs or cats; nonetheless, a high proportion of dogs at 4 years of age were positive to T. gondii (31.8%) while cats with relatively high seropositivity rates were at 1 or 3.4 years of age (13.14%).


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amani Al-Dawood

Abstract Small ruminants (sheep and goats) play a predominant role in the economy of million people, and have provided meat, milk, skin, wool and fiber for centuries. Animals undergo various kinds of stressors, i.e. physical, nutritional, chemical, psychological and heat stress (HS). Among all, HS is the most concerning at present in the ever-changing climatic scenario. Climate change is the most serious long-term challenge faced by small ruminants’ owners worldwide. HS results in decreased growth, reproduction, production, milk quantity and quality, as well as natural immunity, making animals more vulnerable to diseases, and even death. Thus, HS results in great economic losses, emphasizing the necessity to objectively assess animal welfare. The increasing demand for animal products paralleled by the frequent hot climate is a serious threat for the agriculture sector. The ability of sheep and goats to cope with HS without harming their welfare and productive performance has been often overrated. To date, little attention has been paid to comprehensive detailed data on the adverse effect of HS on sheep and goats. Therefore, this review discusses in detail the sheep and goats’ behavioral, physiological, molecular/cellular, hematological, biochemical and immunological responses under HS conditions. In addition, this review also presents the adverse effects of HS on reproduction and fertility, milk quantity and quality, feed intake, and water consumption of sheep and goats. Finally, this review suggests various methods for HS alleviation. In conclusion, HS impairs productivity and well-being in sheep and goats. The improved understanding of the impact of HS on small ruminants will help in developing management techniques to alleviate HS and highlighting the need for future researches on HS in sheep and goats.


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