Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Univ. Manouba, Institution de La Recherche Et de L'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles, École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet, 2020, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia.
Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Institut de La Recherche Vétérinaire de Tunisie, 20 Rue de Jebel Lakdhar, La Rabta, 1006, Tunis, Tunisia.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2021 Nov 2;53(6):528. doi: 10.1007/s11250-021-02975-x.
The aim of this study was to estimate the molecular prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum and the co-infection by both Apicomplexan parasites in uterus tissues of cows. PCR was used to detect T. gondii and N. caninum DNA in uterus from 140 uteri of slaughtered cows in the regional slaughterhouse of Béja (Northwest Tunisia). Positive PCR products were sequenced and used for the phylogenetic analysis. The overall molecular prevalence of T. gondii and N. caninum in cows' uterus was 5 and 15.57%, respectively. Co-infection prevalence by the two parasites was estimated to be 2.85%. Risk factors including the age categories significantly affected the molecular prevalence of T. gondii and N. caninum in cows' uterus. The highest molecular prevalence of T. gondii (11.5 ± 3.1) and N. caninum (21.1 ± 11.1; p = 0.038) was observed in cows aged of more than 8 years. There were no differences depicted according to cow's breeds and localities. Comparison of the partial sequences of the ITS1 gene revealed 100% similarity among our N. caninum sequence (MW136256) and those deposited in GenBank. The T. gondii sequence described in this study (MW260335) was 99.4-100% homologous to T. gondii sequences published in the GenBank.To the best of our knowledge, this is the first molecular evidence of N. caninum and T. gondii co-infection in naturally infected cows in North Africa. This information is pertinent in designing control programmes that would reduce economic losses in the livestock industry.
本研究旨在估计弓形虫、新孢子虫和这两种顶复门寄生虫在牛子宫组织中的共同感染的分子流行率。聚合酶链反应（PCR）用于检测来自贝贾地区屠宰场（突尼斯西北部）的 140 头屠宰牛子宫中的 T. gondii 和 N. caninum DNA。对阳性 PCR 产物进行测序，并用于系统发育分析。牛子宫中 T. gondii 和 N. caninum 的总分子流行率分别为 5%和 15.57%。两种寄生虫的共同感染率估计为 2.85%。包括年龄类别在内的风险因素显著影响牛子宫中 T. gondii 和 N. caninum 的分子流行率。在 8 岁以上的牛中观察到 T. gondii（11.5±3.1）和 N. caninum（21.1±11.1；p=0.038）的最高分子流行率。牛的品种和所在地没有差异。对 ITS1 基因部分序列的比较表明，我们的 N. caninum 序列（MW136256）与 GenBank 中存储的序列完全相同。本研究中描述的 T. gondii 序列（MW260335）与 GenBank 中公布的 T. gondii 序列具有 99.4-100%的同源性。据我们所知，这是首次在北非自然感染的牛中发现 N. caninum 和 T. gondii 共同感染的分子证据。这些信息对于设计可以减少畜牧业经济损失的控制计划具有重要意义。
