Gos María Laura, Venturini María Cecilia, De Felice Lorena, Dellarupe Andrea, Rambeaud Magdalena, Pardini Lais, Campero Lucía María, Bernstein Mariana, Bacigalupe Diana, Basso Walter, Moré Gastón, Unzaga Juan Manuel
Immunoparasitology Laboratory (LAINPA), Faculty of Veterinary Science, La Plata National University, 60 and 118 s/n, La Plata, Buenos Aires 1900, Argentina; Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, La Plata National University, 60 and 118 s/n, La Plata, Buenos Aires 1900, Argentina.
Immunoparasitology Laboratory (LAINPA), Faculty of Veterinary Science, La Plata National University, 60 and 118 s/n, La Plata, Buenos Aires 1900, Argentina.
Vet Parasitol. 2024 Aug;330:110235. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2024.110235. Epub 2024 Jun 12.
Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum infections may be associated with neuromuscular disorders in dogs. The aim of this study was to assess the seroprevalence to these protozoan parasites in dogs with neuromuscular disease from urban areas of Buenos Aires province, Argentina, over a period of 20 years, and to evaluate the association of seropositivity and antibody titres with different variables such as sex, breed and age. For this, a total of 7238 serum samples from urban owned dogs were analysed by the indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT) for specific IgG antibodies. The observed seropositivity rates were 35.7 % for T. gondii and 25.7 % for N. caninum. Crossbred dogs had a significantly higher seroprevalence for T. gondii than purebred dogs (41 % vs. 29.3 %), while a trend towards significance was observed for N. caninum, which was slightly higher in purebred dogs (26 % vs. 23.6 %). Seroprevalence for both parasites increased with age and was higher in older animals. Regarding the distribution of specific antibody titres, the most frequent IFAT T. gondii titre found was 100 and for N. caninum it was ≥800. For toxoplasmosis, there was no association with age group, and low titres (50, 100 and 200) predominated in all groups. However, for neosporosis, age and titres were significantly associated for one age group, with dogs under 12 months of age having a higher proportion of high titres (400 and 800). The trend in the seroprevalence for T. gondii is increasing over the years and lower antibody titres predominate in the dogs studied, which may be more related to the presence of chronic infections and not necessarily to the clinical signs of the animals. Despite the generally low titres observed for toxoplasmosis in this study, it is important to highlight the high seroprevalence found in our region, as dogs can act as sentinels of environmental contamination and as indicators of possible human infection. In the case of neosporosis, although the trend in seroprevalence in dogs with signs appears to be decreasing over the years, our work shows that higher antibody titres predominate, and are probably related to the clinical signs presented by the dogs. This study provides the most recent epidemiological data and serological profiles of T. gondii and N. caninum infections in a large number of canine sera from urban areas in Argentina, providing relevant information for clinical veterinarians and epidemiologists in order to understand the circulation of the parasites.
刚地弓形虫和犬新孢子虫感染可能与犬的神经肌肉疾病有关。本研究的目的是评估阿根廷布宜诺斯艾利斯省市区患有神经肌肉疾病的犬只中这些原生动物寄生虫的血清阳性率，为期20年，并评估血清阳性和抗体滴度与性别、品种和年龄等不同变量之间的关联。为此，通过间接荧光抗体试验（IFAT）对7238份城市家养犬的血清样本进行了特异性IgG抗体分析。观察到的刚地弓形虫血清阳性率为35.7%，犬新孢子虫为25.7%。杂种犬的刚地弓形虫血清阳性率显著高于纯种犬（41%对29.3%），而犬新孢子虫则有显著趋势，纯种犬略高（26%对23.6%）。两种寄生虫的血清阳性率均随年龄增加，老年动物中更高。关于特异性抗体滴度的分布，刚地弓形虫最常见的IFAT滴度为100，犬新孢子虫为≥800。对于弓形虫病，与年龄组无关，所有组中低滴度（50、100和200）占主导。然而，对于新孢子虫病，一个年龄组的年龄和滴度显著相关，12个月龄以下的犬只高滴度（400和800）比例更高。多年来刚地弓形虫的血清阳性率呈上升趋势，且在所研究的犬只中低抗体滴度占主导，这可能更多与慢性感染的存在有关，而不一定与动物的临床症状有关。尽管本研究中观察到的弓形虫病滴度普遍较低，但重要的是要强调我们地区发现的高血清阳性率，因为犬可作为环境污染的哨兵和可能人类感染的指标。在新孢子虫病的情况下，尽管多年来有症状犬只的血清阳性率趋势似乎在下降，但我们的研究表明高抗体滴度占主导，且可能与犬只呈现的临床症状有关。本研究提供了阿根廷市区大量犬血清中刚地弓形虫和犬新孢子虫感染的最新流行病学数据和血清学概况，为临床兽医和流行病学家提供了相关信息，以便了解寄生虫的传播情况。
