Laboratory of Parasitology, Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles, Univ. Manouba, National School of Veterinary Medicine of Sidi Thabet, Sidi Thabet, 2020, Tunisia.
Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggass-Strasse 122, Bern, 3012, Switzerland.
Acta Parasitol. 2024 Sep;69(3):1682-1689. doi: 10.1007/s11686-024-00894-z. Epub 2024 Aug 21.
The aim of this study was to estimate the molecular infection prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in sheep liver tissues destined for human consumption. A total number of 224 liver tissues were collected from slaughtered sheep in Sejnane slaughterhouse (Northwest Tunisia). PCR was used to detect T. gondii DNA in liver tissues followed by phylogenetic analysis of amplicons. The phylogenetic tree was then constructed to compare the partial sequences of the ITS1 gene with GenBank sequences.The overall molecular prevalence of T. gondii in sheep livers was 25% (56/224). The highest molecular prevalence of T. gondii was recorded in sheep aged of less than one year old (27.3%; 52/190). Infection prevalence was significantly higher in Noire de Thibar breed (33%; 17/51) compared to other breeds (p = 0.023). There were no differences depicted according to sheep's gender. The T. gondii sequences obtained in the present study (GenBank accession numbers: OR509829 and OR509830) were 98.40-100% homologous to T. gondii sequences published in the GenBank. These results highlight a high level of T. gondii contamination of tissues destined for human consumption. Further studies are needed to improve our knowledge on different genotypes of T. gondii that infect Tunisian sheep population.
本研究旨在估计用于人类消费的绵羊肝脏组织中弓形虫的分子感染流行率。从塞伊纳内屠宰场（突尼斯西北部）屠宰的绵羊中采集了总共 224 个肝脏组织。使用 PCR 检测肝脏组织中的 T. gondii DNA，然后对扩增子进行系统发育分析。然后构建系统发育树将 ITS1 基因的部分序列与 GenBank 序列进行比较。绵羊肝脏中 T. gondii 的总体分子流行率为 25%（56/224）。在年龄小于一岁的绵羊中记录到 T. gondii 的最高分子流行率（27.3%；52/190）。与其他品种相比，Noire de Thibar 品种的感染率（33%；17/51）明显更高（p=0.023）。根据绵羊的性别没有显示出差异。本研究中获得的 T. gondii 序列（GenBank 登录号：OR509829 和 OR509830）与 GenBank 中公布的 T. gondii 序列同源性为 98.40-100%。这些结果突出了用于人类消费的组织中 T. gondii 污染的高程度。需要进一步研究来提高我们对感染突尼斯绵羊群体的不同 T. gondii 基因型的认识。
