Dong Hui, Lu Yao Yao, Su Rui Jing, Wang Ying Hua, Wang Meng Yao, Jiang Yi Bao, Yang Yu Rong
College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, People's Republic of China.
Center for Animal Disease Control and Prevention of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China.
BMC Vet Res. 2018 Oct 19;14(1):315. doi: 10.1186/s12917-018-1629-3.
Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular protozoan that can infect humans and other animals, including cattle. Cattle are one of the world's main sources of meat, and people who consume raw or undercooked meat and milk of cattle infected with T. gondii can become infected. In this study, a total of 5292 dairy cattle serum samples, collected from 17 cities (Henan Province, China) from January 2015 to September 2017, were screened for antibodies against T. gondii.
Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 1.93% (102/5292) (95% CI, 1.56-2.30) of dairy cattle using a modified agglutination test (cut-off 1:100). The results showed that geographic location and season may be risk factors for T. gondii infection of cattle (P < 0.05), and the seroprevalence of T. gondii in cattle along the Yellow River is higher than other areas.
This is the first large-scale investigation on the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in cattle from Central China. This survey shows that the T. gondii infection rate of dairy cattle is low; however, these findings provide additional information on the epidemiology of Chinese T. gondii. The possibility of dairy cattle exposure to T. gondii in Central China can not be ignored, and the consumption of raw or undercooked beef or milk may pose a risk to human health.
刚地弓形虫是一种细胞内原生动物，可感染人类和包括牛在内的其他动物。牛是全球主要的肉类来源之一，食用感染刚地弓形虫的牛的生肉或未煮熟的肉及牛奶的人可能会被感染。在本研究中，对2015年1月至2017年9月从中国河南省17个城市采集的5292份奶牛血清样本进行了刚地弓形虫抗体筛查。
采用改良凝集试验（临界值1:100），在1.93%（102/5292）（95%可信区间，1.56 - 2.30）的奶牛中检测到刚地弓形虫抗体。结果表明，地理位置和季节可能是牛感染刚地弓形虫的风险因素（P < 0.05），黄河沿岸牛的刚地弓形虫血清阳性率高于其他地区。
这是首次对中国中部地区牛的刚地弓形虫感染血清阳性率进行的大规模调查。本次调查表明奶牛的刚地弓形虫感染率较低；然而，这些发现为中国刚地弓形虫的流行病学提供了更多信息。中国中部地区奶牛接触刚地弓形虫的可能性不容忽视，食用生牛肉或未煮熟的牛肉或牛奶可能对人类健康构成风险。
