Alage Agricultural TVET College, Department of Animal Health, Ziway, Ethiopia.
University of Gondar, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Ethiopia.
Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports. 2020 Jul;21:100425. doi: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2020.100425. Epub 2020 Jun 20.
Limited data is accessible about the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in backyard (free-range) chickens in Ethiopia. This cross-sectional study was carried out from November 2018 to April 2019 to estimate the seroprevalence and assess associated risk factors of T. gondii infection in backyard chickens in Northwest Ethiopia. Serum samples were collected from 384 backyard chickens. Toxoplasma gondii antibodies were assayed using Toxo-Latex slide agglutination test. Seropositivity for T. gondii antibodies was confirmed in 72.4% of 384 birds. Altitude, presence of cat and dog around the house, age, breed and water source were considered as potential risk factors (p < .05) associated with Toxoplasma seropositivity in this study. But, sex was not identified as a predictor for Toxoplasma infection even though higher seroprevalence was observed in females (73.7%) than males (69.3%). In conclusion, this study indicates a high prevalence of T. gondii infection in backyard chickens in Northwest Ethiopia. Therefore, further works on epidemiology, bioassay, isolation and genetic characterization of the pathogen are imperative. It also warrants an action to prevent and control T. gondii infection in backyard chickens that could serve as an important intermediate host and pose a potential threat for consumers.
关于埃塞俄比亚后院（自由放养）鸡弓形虫感染的血清流行率，可获得的数据有限。本横断面研究于 2018 年 11 月至 2019 年 4 月进行，旨在估计埃塞俄比亚西北部后院鸡弓形虫感染的血清流行率，并评估相关的危险因素。采集了 384 只后院鸡的血清样本。使用 Toxo-Latex 乳胶凝集试验检测弓形虫抗体。在 384 只鸟类中，有 72.4%的血清对弓形虫抗体呈阳性。本研究中，海拔、房屋周围猫和狗的存在、年龄、品种和水源被认为是与弓形虫血清阳性相关的潜在危险因素（p<0.05）。但是，性别并未被确定为弓形虫感染的预测因素，尽管雌性（73.7%）的血清阳性率高于雄性（69.3%）。总之，本研究表明埃塞俄比亚西北部后院鸡弓形虫感染的流行率很高。因此，有必要进一步开展流行病学、生物测定、病原体分离和遗传特征分析的工作。此外，还需要采取行动预防和控制后院鸡的弓形虫感染，因为它们可能成为重要的中间宿主，并对消费者构成潜在威胁。
