Iacobucci E, Taus N S, Ueti M W, Sukhbaatar L, Bastsukh Z, Papageorgiou S, Fritz H
College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA.
Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA.
Parasitol Res. 2019 Jun;118(6):2005-2008. doi: 10.1007/s00436-019-06306-w. Epub 2019 Apr 13.
Toxoplasma gondii is a global, zoonotic parasite capable of infecting any warm-blooded host. Toxoplasmosis can cause a variety of illnesses including abortions and congenital defects in humans, sheep, and goats. Congenital toxoplasmosis is considered to have the highest global disease burden of any foodborne illness in humans. This study examined the potential role of milk as a route of T. gondii transmission between livestock and humans within Mongolian herders, a little-studied population which relies heavily on animals. Milk of Mongolian sheep, goats and Bactrian camels was tested for the presence of T. gondii DNA, and a survey was conducted to ascertain what behavioral and environmental factors were present that might potentiate T. gondii infection within these Mongolian communities. T. gondii DNA was detected in samples from one sheep and five camels. Sequence analysis of DNA from camel milk revealed that two were from potentially virulent T. gondii genotypes. This has implications for public health in the region, as milk is an extremely important source of nutrition and our survey results imply that some people believe consumption of raw camel milk carries health benefits. This is the first report of T. gondii DNA in Bactrian camel milk as well as the first genotypic characterization of T. gondii within Mongolia.
刚地弓形虫是一种全球性的人畜共患寄生虫，能够感染任何温血宿主。弓形虫病可引发多种疾病，包括人类、绵羊和山羊的流产及先天性缺陷。先天性弓形虫病被认为是人类所有食源性疾病中全球疾病负担最高的。本研究调查了在蒙古牧民（一个鲜少被研究且严重依赖动物的群体）中，牛奶作为刚地弓形虫在牲畜与人类之间传播途径的潜在作用。对蒙古绵羊、山羊和双峰驼的牛奶进行了刚地弓形虫DNA检测，并开展了一项调查，以确定存在哪些行为和环境因素可能会增加这些蒙古社区内刚地弓形虫感染的几率。在一只绵羊和五只骆驼的样本中检测到了刚地弓形虫DNA。对骆驼奶DNA的序列分析显示，其中两份来自具有潜在毒性的刚地弓形虫基因型。这对该地区的公共卫生具有重要意义，因为牛奶是极其重要的营养来源，而且我们的调查结果表明，一些人认为饮用生骆驼奶有益健康。这是关于双峰驼奶中刚地弓形虫DNA的首次报告，也是蒙古境内刚地弓形虫的首次基因分型特征描述。
