Feng Yongjie, Lu Yaoyao, Wang Yinghua, Zhang Longxian, Yang Yurong
Laboratory of Veterinary Pathology, College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, People's Republic of China.
Center for Animal Disease Control and Prevention of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, 450002, People's Republic of China.
BMC Vet Res. 2017 Oct 11;13(1):301. doi: 10.1186/s12917-017-1221-2.
The parasites Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) and Neospora caninum (N. caninum) are globally distributed; they infect warm-blooded animals, including many avian species. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of these parasites in ostriches from central China. In total, 402 ostrich (Struthio camelus) samples (293 hearts, 77 brains, and 32 serum) from slaughterhouses of the Henan Province and Hebei Province were collected. The heart juice (n = 283) and serum samples (n = 32) were tested for antibodies to T. gondii using the modified agglutination test (MAT). Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, and the polymerase chain reaction were used to examine the cysts and DNA of T. gondii and N. caninum parasites, respectively.
Antibodies to T. gondii were detected in 6.4% (20/315) (cut-off, 25). No cysts or DNA of T. gondii or N. caninum were observed in any of the 293 hearts and 77 brains.
The results showed a low prevalence of T. gondii antibody in ostriches, compared to that in the other animals. N. caninum occurs at low to negligible frequencies in ostriches from China. This is the first report on screening ostriches in China for T. gondii antibodies.
寄生虫刚地弓形虫（T. gondii）和犬新孢子虫（N. caninum）在全球范围内分布；它们感染包括许多鸟类在内的温血动物。本研究的目的是评估中国中部鸵鸟体内这些寄生虫的存在情况。总共从河南省和河北省的屠宰场收集了402份鸵鸟（鸵鸟属骆驼鸵鸟）样本（293份心脏、77份大脑和32份血清）。使用改良凝集试验（MAT）检测心脏汁液（n = 283）和血清样本（n = 32）中针对刚地弓形虫的抗体。苏木精和伊红（H&E）染色、免疫组织化学（IHC）染色以及聚合酶链反应分别用于检查刚地弓形虫和犬新孢子虫寄生虫的囊肿和DNA。
在6.4%（20/315）（临界值为25）的样本中检测到针对刚地弓形虫的抗体。在293份心脏和77份大脑样本中均未观察到刚地弓形虫或犬新孢子虫的囊肿或DNA。
结果表明，与其他动物相比，鸵鸟体内刚地弓形虫抗体的流行率较低。在中国鸵鸟中，犬新孢子虫的发生率很低或可忽略不计。这是中国首次关于鸵鸟刚地弓形虫抗体筛查的报告。
