Division of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Beit Dagan, Israel.
Division of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Beit Dagan, Israel; Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis. 2023 Jan;92:101928. doi: 10.1016/j.cimid.2022.101928. Epub 2022 Nov 28.
Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa, which causes the zoonotic disease toxoplasmosis. T. gondii infects almost all warm blood animals. Generally, infected animals are asymptomatic and remain infected for life. Infection of humans occurs by consumption of infected undercooked meat or contaminated vegetables, fruit and water. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and seroprevalence of T. gondii in livestock in Israel. For the serological screening we investigated the presence of antibodies against T. gondii in sera using the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT). Molecular screening was preformed using conventional PCR and nested PCR for the detection of T. gondii DNA in tissue samples. Serum samples of 249 cattle and 138 sheep were collected from farms. This serological survey showed high seroprevalence with seropositivity of 29 % in cattle and 33 % in sheep. In addition, 526 paired sera and tissue samples from cattle, sheep and pigs were obtained in slaughterhouses. The serological prevalence of T. gondii in healthy animals intended for human consumption was 29.4 % in cattle, 26.1 % in sheep and 8.1 % in pigs. The molecular detection of T. gondii in the tissue samples was 7.5 % in cattle, 7.3 % in sheep and 6.3 % in pigs. Considering the combined positive results from both serological and molecular assays, exposure to or infection with the parasite was present in 26.2 % of the samples (33.8 % in cattle, 30.3 % in sheep, 12.5 % in pigs). The prevalence of T. gondii in pigs was significantly lower compared to that of cattle and sheep (P < 0.001). All PCR positive samples from animals and 12 human positive samples were genotyped using a restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. The results showed the existence of atypical genotypes in the majority of the samples and no correlation between animals and human samples could be determined from this study. Widespread exposure to T. gondii in Israel with the presence of parasite DNA in meat from cattle, sheep and pigs meant for human consumption was found.
刚地弓形虫是一种专性细胞内寄生虫，属于顶复门，可引起动物传染病弓形体病。刚地弓形虫感染几乎所有温血动物。一般来说，感染动物无症状，并终生感染。人类感染是通过食用未煮熟的受感染肉类或受污染的蔬菜、水果和水。本研究旨在评估以色列家畜中刚地弓形虫的流行率和血清流行率。为了进行血清学筛查，我们使用间接荧光抗体试验（IFAT）检测血清中针对刚地弓形虫的抗体。通过常规 PCR 和巢式 PCR 对组织样本进行分子筛查，以检测刚地弓形虫 DNA。从农场采集了 249 头牛和 138 只羊的血清样本。这项血清学调查显示了高血清阳性率，牛的血清阳性率为 29%，羊的血清阳性率为 33%。此外，在屠宰场还获得了来自牛、羊和猪的 526 对血清和组织样本。供人类食用的健康动物中，刚地弓形虫的血清流行率在牛中为 29.4%，在羊中为 26.1%，在猪中为 8.1%。组织样本中刚地弓形虫的分子检测率在牛中为 7.5%，在羊中为 7.3%，在猪中为 6.3%。考虑到血清学和分子检测的综合阳性结果，有 26.2%的样本（牛中 33.8%，羊中 30.3%，猪中 12.5%）接触或感染了寄生虫。与牛和羊相比，猪中刚地弓形虫的流行率显著较低（P<0.001）。对来自动物的所有 PCR 阳性样本和 12 个人类阳性样本进行了基因型分析，使用了限制性片段长度多态性（PCR-RFLP）方法。结果表明，在大多数样本中存在非典型基因型，无法从本研究中确定动物和人类样本之间的相关性。在以色列，广泛存在刚地弓形虫感染，在供人类食用的牛、羊和猪肉中发现了寄生虫 DNA。
