Serodiagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii infection in small ruminants from the Czech Republic by commercial and in-house ELISAs

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F62157124%3A16170%2F22%3A43880127" target="_blank" >RIV/62157124:16170/22:43880127 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/62157124:16810/22:43880127 RIV/00027162:_____/22:N0000111

Result on the web

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DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Serodiagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii infection in small ruminants from the Czech Republic by commercial and in-house ELISAs

Original language description

Toxoplasma gondii infection is widespread in humans, livestock, and wildlife across the world. Moreover, T. gondii is a major cause of reproductive failure in small ruminant flocks and serological diagnosis can help to inform about the possible occurrence of disease on farms and also to determine the level of risk for transmission of pathogens into the food chain. In this study, a total of 808 sera of small ruminants (418 sheep and 390 goats) from 41 farms and 10 regions in the Czech Republic were examined for the presence of T. gondii-specific antibodies. These samples were obtained during 2019 from animals older than one year. Two independent ELISAs were selected, the commercially available ID Screen? Toxoplasmosis Indirect Multi-species (IDvet) and an in-house ELISA based on lyophilized tachyzoites named TgSALUVET ELISA 2.0. Antibodies directed against T. gondii were detected in animals from all tested farms. A total of 457 (56.6%) sheep and goat sera were positive by ID Screen ELISA: 289 sheep (69.1%) and 168 goats (43.1%). When TgSALUVET ELISA was employed, 396 (49.0%) sheep and goat sera were positive: 243 sheep (58.1%) and 153 goats (39.2%). The possible cross-reactivity against Neospora caninum was also investigated by NcSALUVET ELISA 2.0 and the results were verified by Western Blot (WB). Eight out of 808 animal sera were positive by NcSALUVET ELISA 2.0 and WB analysis confirmed five seropositive animals (0.6%), two goats and three sheep. Results suggest a low seroprevalence of N. caninum infection. However, a possible cross-reaction with N. caninum antibodies was detected in four sera tested by both ID Screen and TgSALUVET ELISA, whereas only two samples were positive by TgSALUVET ELISA 2.0 when a cut-off selected to increase specificity was employed (RIPC&gt;32). Further analysis by T. gondii WB is required to confirm potential co-infections. According to the results obtained, the seroprevalence of T. gondii in sheep and goats from our study corresponds to the average seroprevalence measured at the European level. Nevertheless, small ruminants exposed to T. gondii parasite may be a potential source of infection for humans, especially when consuming raw or undercooked meat, or other products from infected animals.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

O - Miscellaneous

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

40301 - Veterinary science

Project

<a href="/en/project/QK1910082" target="_blank" >QK1910082: Addressing the problem of the occurrence of bacterial, protozoan and viral zoonotic agents in small ruminant breeds</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2022

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů