Masatani Tatsunori, Takashima Yasuhiro, Takasu Masaki, Matsuu Aya, Amaya Tomohiko
Transboundary Animal Diseases Research Center, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kagoshima University, Korimoto 1-21-24, Kagoshima, Japan.
Department of Veterinary Parasitological Diseases, Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, Yanagido 1-1, Gifu, Japan.
Parasitol Int. 2016 Apr;65(2):146-50. doi: 10.1016/j.parint.2015.11.006. Epub 2015 Nov 30.
The present study is the first report that investigated the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in domestic horses in various prefectures of Japan and analyzed risk factors for seropositivity. We performed a latex agglutination test for riding/racing horses from 11 prefectures in Japan (783 samples) and 4 groups of Japanese native horses (254 samples). The total seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii antibody in horses examined in this study was 4.24% (44/1037). As for riding/racing horses, we did not find a statistically different T. gondii seroprevalence between sampling prefectures. In contrast, seroprevalence of T. gondii in older horses (>21 years) was significantly higher than that in younger horses (<5 years and 11-15 years). There was no significant difference in T. gondii seroprevalence between riding/racing horses and Japanese native horses. Logistical regression analysis revealed that age, but not sex and usage, is a significant risk factor of T. gondii infection for domestic horses in Japan. These findings suggest that domesticated horses in Japan can be horizontally infected with T. gondii by ingestion of food or water contaminated with oocysts.
本研究是首篇调查日本各府家马弓形虫感染血清阳性率并分析血清阳性风险因素的报告。我们对来自日本11个府的骑乘/赛马（783份样本）和4组日本本土马（254份样本）进行了乳胶凝集试验。本研究中检测的马匹抗弓形虫抗体总血清阳性率为4.24%（44/1037）。对于骑乘/赛马，我们未发现不同采样府之间弓形虫血清阳性率存在统计学差异。相比之下，老年马（>21岁）的弓形虫血清阳性率显著高于年轻马（<5岁和11 - 15岁）。骑乘/赛马和日本本土马之间的弓形虫血清阳性率无显著差异。逻辑回归分析显示，年龄而非性别和用途是日本家马弓形虫感染的显著风险因素。这些发现表明，日本的家养马可能通过摄入被卵囊污染的食物或水而被弓形虫水平感染。
