National Veterinary Institute, Department of Pathology and Wildlife Diseases, Ulls vag, S-751 89 Uppsala, Sweden.
Vet Parasitol. 2011 May 11;177(3-4):275-80. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2010.11.051. Epub 2010 Dec 9.
Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum are two coccidian parasites with a worldwide distribution. T. gondii is one of the more common parasitic zoonoses in the world and in young children and immunocompromised persons, infection can lead to severe disease and death. N. caninum is an important cause of abortions in cattle. Wildlife have been identified as reservoirs and transmitters for both parasites. The purpose of this study was to investigate the seroprevalences of T. gondii, and N. caninum in moose (Alces alces), and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in Sweden. Blood samples were collected from 417 moose during 2000-2005 and from 199 roe deer during 1990-2007. The samples were investigated for presence of antibodies by a T. gondii direct agglutination test and a N. caninum iscom ELISA. Because the iscom ELISA has not been validated for moose or roe deer, sera that gave a positive result were further investigated by immunoblot analysis to verify presence of antibodies. Antibodies to T. gondii were detected in 85 (20%) and 68 (34%) moose and roe deer sera, respectively. In moose the seroprevalence was higher in south and central Sweden than in the north, whereas there was no difference between the regions for roe deer. Adult moose and roe deer had higher odds of being seropositive than young animals but there were no difference in seroprevalence between males and females. One roe deer was positive by immunoblotting and was regarded as N. caninum positive, whereas all moose sera were negative. The results show that T. gondii infection is widely spread in the Swedish moose and roe deer populations. Precautions should therefore be taken when handling internal organs and carcasses of harvested cervids. Proper handling and cooking of game meat also is important to prevent toxoplasmosis in humans.
刚地弓形虫和新孢子虫是两种具有全球分布的球虫寄生虫。刚地弓形虫是世界上更为常见的寄生性人畜共患病之一，在幼儿和免疫功能低下者中，感染可导致严重疾病和死亡。新孢子虫是牛流产的重要原因。野生动物已被确定为这两种寄生虫的储存宿主和传播者。本研究旨在调查瑞典驼鹿（Alces alces）和狍（Capreolus capreolus）中刚地弓形虫和新孢子虫的血清流行率。2000-2005 年间从 417 头驼鹿和 1990-2007 年间从 199 头狍中采集血液样本。通过刚地弓形虫直接凝集试验和新孢子虫免疫复合物 ELISA 检测样本中抗体的存在情况。由于该免疫复合物 ELISA 尚未在驼鹿或狍中得到验证，因此对出现阳性结果的血清进行免疫印迹分析以进一步验证抗体的存在情况。在 85 头（20%）和 68 头（34%）驼鹿和狍血清中分别检测到抗刚地弓形虫抗体。在驼鹿中，南部和中部瑞典的血清阳性率高于北部，而狍在不同地区之间没有差异。成年驼鹿和狍比幼年动物更有可能呈血清阳性，但雄性和雌性之间的血清阳性率没有差异。一头狍的免疫印迹呈阳性，被认为是新孢子虫阳性，而所有驼鹿血清均为阴性。结果表明，刚地弓形虫感染在瑞典驼鹿和狍种群中广泛传播。因此，在处理收获的鹿类内脏器官和尸体时应采取预防措施。适当处理和烹饪野味肉也很重要，可以预防人类感染弓形虫病。
