State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, Hubei, PR China.
Vet Parasitol. 2012 Mar 23;184(2-4):141-6. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2011.08.025. Epub 2011 Aug 22.
Toxoplasma gondii of warm-blooded animals and humans is an important pathogenic agent throughout the world. Soil is increasingly recognized as an important source in the transmission of Toxoplasma. To attain the contamination status of T. gondii in the soil of public parks, a total of 252 soil samples were collected from September 2009 to August 2010 at different sites located in 6 public parks of Wuhan, Hubei, China and detected by PCR and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). The detection limit of PCR/B1, PCR/529 and LAMP was determined to be 50, 5, and 5 tachyzoites in soil, respectively. Forty-one samples were found positive for Toxoplasma DNA by PCR on both genes, whereas LAMP products were generated in 58 samples (χ(2)=3.6328, P=0.0567). All parks were found contaminated and no significant difference was found among the parks (PCR: χ(2)=0.0072, P=0.9325; LAMP: χ(2)=0.6101, P=0.4347). However, contamination was found with significantly different among the four seasons (PCR: χ(2)=11.6066, P=0.0007; LAMP: χ(2)=12.4636, P=0.0004), with a gradual decrease in the prevalence from spring to winter on both analyses. This is the first investigation on soil contamination of public parks in China by T. gondii oocysts. The results indicate that the soil of public parks contaminated with T. gondii oocysts may play a role in the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis and effective preventive measures should be considered. Moreover, the conventional PCR and LAMP used in the present study are applicable to detect T. gondii oocysts in soil samples.
温血动物和人类的弓形虫在全球范围内都是重要的病原体。土壤越来越被认为是弓形虫传播的重要来源。为了了解公共公园土壤中弓形虫的污染状况，我们于 2009 年 9 月至 2010 年 8 月在湖北省武汉市的 6 个公共公园的不同地点采集了 252 份土壤样本，并通过 PCR 和环介导等温扩增（LAMP）进行了检测。PCR/B1、PCR/529 和 LAMP 的检测限分别确定为土壤中 50、5 和 5 个速殖子。PCR 对这两个基因的 41 个样本检测到弓形虫 DNA 阳性，而 LAMP 产物在 58 个样本中生成（χ(2)=3.6328，P=0.0567）。所有公园都受到了污染，各公园之间没有发现显著差异（PCR：χ(2)=0.0072，P=0.9325；LAMP：χ(2)=0.6101，P=0.4347）。然而，四个季节之间的污染情况存在显著差异（PCR：χ(2)=11.6066，P=0.0007；LAMP：χ(2)=12.4636，P=0.0004），两种分析方法均显示从春季到冬季的流行率逐渐降低。这是首次在中国对公共公园土壤进行弓形虫卵囊污染调查。结果表明，受弓形虫卵囊污染的公共公园土壤可能在弓形虫病的流行病学中发挥作用，应考虑采取有效的预防措施。此外，本研究中使用的常规 PCR 和 LAMP 适用于检测土壤样本中的弓形虫卵囊。
