Abdelbaset Abdelbaset E, Hamed Maha I, Abushahba Mostafa F N, Rawy Mohamed S, Sayed Amal S M, Adamovicz Jeffrey J
Department of Animal Medicine (Clinical Laboratory Diagnosis), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, 71526-Assiut, Egypt.
Department of Animal Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, 71526 Assiut, Egypt.
Vet World. 2020 Jan;13(1):54-60. doi: 10.14202/vetworld.2020.54-60. Epub 2020 Jan 9.
The cosmopolite protozoan, , has a significant economic and medical impact. Cats traditionally play a predominant role in the disease maintenance cycle; however, humans can be infected as a result of milk and meat consumption of -infected livestock. In addition, infected pregnant women, even symptomless, can pass the disease to their unborn fetus. The limited clinical records and absence of specific national educational programs in countries like Egypt underscore the need for periodic toxoplasmosis disease evaluation. Here, we identified seroprevalence among sheep and pregnant women and the associated risk factors in El-Minya Governorate, Egypt.
Using peripheral blood, we detected -specific antibodies in 151 sheep and 96 pregnant women sera from El-Minya Governorate using latex agglutination and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The impact of different environmental and behavioral risk factors identified with in-person interviews and serology results on acquiring toxoplasmosis was statistically analyzed.
The overall toxoplasmosis seroprevalence was 39.1% and 22.9% in sheep and pregnant women, respectively. Significantly higher seroprevalence was correlated with increasing sheep age and geographical location. Nonetheless, no statistical significance was found based on abortion history and pregnancy status of the examined sheep. Exposure factors important for pregnant women included pregnancy trimester, contact with cats, and the habit of eating undercooked sheep meat, which all had a statistically significant association with seropositivity.
The current study confirms increased antibodies against toxoplasmosis in both sheep and pregnant women in El-Minya Governorate and a clear association between women's age, contact with cats, and the habit of eating undercooked sheep meat and seroreactivity to . These results strongly suggest the need for a more comprehensive epidemiological study and public health awareness education for toxoplasmosis.
世界性原生动物弓形虫具有重大的经济和医学影响。传统上，猫在该疾病的维持循环中起主要作用；然而，人类可能因食用感染弓形虫的家畜的奶和肉而被感染。此外，感染弓形虫的孕妇即使没有症状，也可能将疾病传染给未出生的胎儿。埃及等国家临床记录有限且缺乏特定的国家教育项目，这凸显了定期进行弓形虫病评估的必要性。在此，我们确定了埃及明亚省绵羊和孕妇中的弓形虫血清阳性率以及相关危险因素。
我们使用外周血，通过乳胶凝集试验和间接酶联免疫吸附测定法，检测了明亚省151份绵羊血清和96份孕妇血清中的弓形虫特异性抗体。对通过面对面访谈确定的不同环境和行为危险因素以及血清学结果对感染弓形虫的影响进行了统计学分析。
绵羊和孕妇的弓形虫总体血清阳性率分别为39.1%和22.9%。血清阳性率显著升高与绵羊年龄增长和地理位置有关。然而，根据所检查绵羊的流产史和妊娠状态未发现统计学意义。对孕妇重要的暴露因素包括妊娠 trimester、与猫接触以及食用未煮熟羊肉的习惯，所有这些因素与弓形虫血清阳性均有统计学显著关联。
本研究证实埃及明亚省绵羊和孕妇中抗弓形虫抗体增加，并且女性年龄、与猫接触以及食用未煮熟羊肉的习惯与弓形虫血清反应性之间存在明确关联。这些结果强烈表明需要针对弓形虫病开展更全面的流行病学研究和公共卫生意识教育。
