Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Ozzano Emilia, Bologna, 40064, Italy.
AUSL Bologna dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica Veterinaria- UO Veterinaria B, Via del Seminario, 1 San Lazzaro di Savena, Bologna, Italy.
BMC Vet Res. 2024 Feb 22;20(1):62. doi: 10.1186/s12917-024-03922-2.
The wild boar (Sus scrofa) and the Apennine wolf (Canis lupus italicus) are two wild species that have both increased their presence in the Italian territory, albeit in varying numbers. They can be occasionally found in peri-urban areas as well. Both of these species can serve as intermediate hosts for Toxoplasma gondii, as they can become infected either through the consumption of oocysts found in water, soil, or on vegetables, or through the ingestion of meat containing bradyzoites. Consequently, these animals can be regarded as key indicators of Toxoplasma presence in the wild or peri-urban environment. In our study, we examined a total of 174 wild boar meat juice and 128 wolf sera from Italy for the detection of T. gondii IgG using the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT).
The results showed that 40 (22.6%) of the wild boar meat juice and 34 (26.6%) of the wolf serum samples tested positive. Interestingly, there were no significant differences in seropositivity with respect to gender, age group, or the region of origin in both species.
Overall the results indicate a moderate exposure in both the species under investigation, highlighting the spread of T. gondii in sylvatic and periurban environments. The prevalence of T. gondii in wild boar is consistent with findings from other studies conducted in Europe. Our study, with a considerably larger sample size compared to the available research in European context, provides valuable data on the seroprevalence of T. gondii in wolves.
野猪（Sus scrofa）和意大利狼（Canis lupus italicus）是两种在意大利境内数量都有所增加的野生动物。它们偶尔也会出现在城市周边地区。这两种物种都可以作为刚地弓形虫的中间宿主，因为它们可以通过摄入水中、土壤中或蔬菜上的卵囊，或者摄入含有缓殖子的肉而感染。因此，这些动物可以被视为野生或城市周边环境中刚地弓形虫存在的关键指标。在我们的研究中，我们使用间接荧光抗体试验（IFAT）检测了来自意大利的总共 174 份野猪肉汁和 128 份狼血清，以检测 T. gondii IgG。
结果显示，40 份（22.6%）野猪肉汁和 34 份（26.6%）狼血清样本检测呈阳性。有趣的是，在两种物种中，性别、年龄组或来源地区与血清阳性率均无显著差异。
总体而言，结果表明这两种受调查物种均存在中度暴露，突出了刚地弓形虫在森林和城市周边环境中的传播。野猪中刚地弓形虫的流行率与欧洲其他研究的结果一致。与欧洲已有研究相比，我们的研究样本量更大，为狼中刚地弓形虫的血清流行率提供了有价值的数据。
