First report of seroprevalence of <em>Toxoplasma gondii </em>infection in sheep in Pomerania, northern Poland
Journal Title: Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine - Year 2015, Vol 22, Issue 4
Abstract
[b][/b][b][/b][b]Introduction and objective.[/b] [i]Toxoplasmosis[/i] is parasitic disease which has economic relevance for both veterinary and human medicine. In sheep, toxoplasmosis is a major cause of abortion and can thus cause reproductive problems. The current study aimed to determine the occurrence of anti-[i]Toxoplasma gondii [/i]IgG antibodies in sheep from 13 districts of northern Poland and thereby obtain actual data about [i]T. gondii[/i] seroprevalence in this population of animals. [b]Materials and methods.[/b][b][/b] [/b]Blood samples from 1,646 animals from 99 herds were collected, and an in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on native [i]Toxoplasma[/i] lysate antigen (TLA) was used for serological testing. The diagnostic sensitivity of diagnostic test used in this study was 98.6%, and specificity 94.9% for the group of 113 sheep sera (74 seropositive and 39 seronegative) previously characterized by using an commercial agglutination test. [b]Results.[/b] Antibodies against [i]T. gondii[/i] were found in 921 (55.9%) of all tested animals. The percentage of infected sheep was the highest (67.6%) for older animals (&amp;gt;6 years), whereas for younger ones it was significantly lower (50.1% – 57.2% for 1–5-year-old animals, respectively). Furthermore, a higher percentage of seropositive animals was noted among males (63%) than females (55.5%). The results also showed that the size of the herd is not a factor which may affect the seroprevalence of [i]T. gondii[/i] infection in the examined population of sheep. [b]Conclusion. [/b]The results of this study indicate that [i]T. gondii[/i] infection in sheep from region of northern Poland is relatively high, and consumption of ovine meat and milk can be regarded as a significant source of infection for humans.
Authors and Affiliations
Lucyna Holec-Gąsior, Bartosz Dominiak-Górski, Józef Kur
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP81020
- DOI -
- Views 157
- Downloads 0
Differences in results of breast cancer curative treatment between urban/rural female population in Podlaskie Voivodship of Poland before introduction of the National Cancer Control Programme
The aim of the study was to evaluate differences in the results of the curative treatment received by women with breast cancer in urban and rural area in Podlaskie Voivodship in 2001-2002 before the introduction of the N...
Influence of the type of tree habitat on the character of co-occurrence of Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, Ni, Cr and Co in the soil of the Tatra Mountain National Park
The objective of the research was to determine the effect of habitat type of selected species of trees on the nature of co-occurrence of Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr and Co. The presence of speciation forms of these me...
Addison’s disease due to tuberculosis of the adrenal glands
Introduction: Addison’s disease (AD), or primary adrenocortical insufficiency, was first described by Thomas Addison in patients with adrenal tuberculosis (TBC). Over the past several decades, along with the introduction...
Serological and nested PCR survey to determine the occurrence of chlamydia infections in the Polish cattle population
[i][/i][i]Chlamydia spp.[/i] is an obligate intracellular agent that causes chlamydiosis in animals and humans. The aim of the presented study was to investigate the prevalence of [i]Chlamydia[/i] infection in the Polish...
Anti-epileptic drugs inhibit viability of synoviocytes in vitro
Introduction and objective: The hyperplasia of synovial fibroblasts is considered to be essential for the evolution of joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Previously, we reported that anti-rheumatic drugs, bo...