School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland.
Zoonoses Public Health. 2013 Mar;60(2):168-73. doi: 10.1111/j.1863-2378.2012.01514.x. Epub 2012 Jun 15.
Toxoplasma gondii is among the most studied parasites worldwide but there is not much information about it published in Ireland. The objectives of this study were to determine the seroprevalence of T. gondii in sheep, pigs, deer and chickens and the molecular detection of T. gondii DNA in muscle tissue. Serum samples were collected from these species at the time of slaughter at Irish abattoirs during 2007 and tested for anti-T. gondii antibodies using a commercial semi-quantitative latex agglutination test. Antibodies (titre ≥1 : 64) were found in 36% (105/292) sheep, 4.7% (15/317) pigs and 6.6% (23/348) deer. In chickens, 18% (65/364) had antibody titres, ranging between 1 : 5 and 1 : 1024. Significant (P ≤ 0.05) age-related differences in seroprevalence were found in adult sheep (58.1%) and pigs (23.1%). Significant gender differences in seroprevalence was also found in sheep with more females (43%) than males (22.4%) being positive. However, when adjusted for age through logistic regression gender was no longer significant. Seroprevalence was also evaluated on farm locations grouped to NUTS level 3, but the prevalence was too low to draw any statistical conclusions. Using a nested PCR, the presence of T. gondii DNA was detected in diaphragm samples from 3.6% (3/83) sheep, 13.0% (3/23) pig and 4.2% (3/71) deer. Meat digestion liquids from a Trichinella spp. survey in pigs were also used for the first time to detect T. gondii. Toxoplasma gondii DNA was detected in 50% (10/20) of pooled samples. This is the first in depth study of T. gondii seroprevalence in animals in Ireland and a novel method, using digestion liquid from pooled diaphragm samples, for PCR detection in pigs is described.
刚地弓形虫是全球研究最多的寄生虫之一，但在爱尔兰发表的相关信息却不多。本研究的目的是确定爱尔兰屠宰场屠宰的绵羊、猪、鹿和鸡的弓形虫血清流行率，并检测肌肉组织中的弓形虫 DNA。2007 年，在爱尔兰屠宰场屠宰时采集这些物种的血清样本，使用商业半定量乳胶凝集试验检测抗弓形虫抗体。在 36%（105/292）的绵羊、4.7%（15/317）的猪和 6.6%（23/348）的鹿中发现了抗体（滴度≥1:64）。在鸡中，18%（65/364）的抗体滴度为 1:5 至 1:1024。在成年绵羊（58.1%）和猪（23.1%）中发现了与年龄相关的显著（P≤0.05）血清流行率差异。在绵羊中，也发现了与性别相关的显著血清流行率差异，其中雌性（43%）比雄性（22.4%）阳性的更多。然而，通过逻辑回归调整年龄后，性别不再显著。还按 NUTS 第 3 级分组评估了农场位置的血清流行率，但流行率太低，无法得出任何统计结论。使用巢式 PCR，在 3.6%（3/83）的绵羊、13.0%（3/23）的猪和 4.2%（3/71）的鹿的横膈膜样本中检测到了弓形虫 DNA。首次还使用猪肉旋毛虫调查的肉消化液来检测弓形虫。在 50%（10/20）的混合样本中检测到了弓形虫 DNA。这是爱尔兰首次对动物弓形虫血清流行率进行深入研究，并描述了一种使用混合横膈膜样本消化液进行猪 PCR 检测的新方法。
