BackgroundIn recent years, investigations of Toxoplasma gondii infection in poultry (chickens, ducks, and geese) have been reported worldwide, including China. However, little is known about the prevalence of T. gondii infection in poultry in northeastern China. Therefore, the present study was performed to determine the prevalence of T. gondii infection in slaughtered chickens, ducks, and geese in Shenyang, northeastern China.MethodsIn the present study, the seroprevalence of T. gondii in 502 adult chickens, 268 adult ducks, and 128 adult geese was surveyed using the modified agglutination test (MAT).ResultsThe seroprevalences of T. gondii were 5.8%, 7.8%, and 4.7% in chickens, ducks, and geese, respectively. Prevalence was higher in free-range groups (11.2%, 12.3%, and 8.9%) than caged groups (4.7%, 7.5%, and 6.0%), and there was a statistically significant difference only between free-range chickens and caged chickens, but no significant difference was found between free-range ducks, geese and caged ducks, geese.ConclusionsThe present study shows the prescence of T. gondii infection in slaughtered chickens, ducks, and geese in Shenyang, northeastern China, which suggests that consumption of poultry meat in Shenyang may pose a potential threat to human health and should be given attention.

The deadly COVID-19 has been spreading across the globe, causing large-scale deaths, disruptions, recession, and distress. While most governments and citizens have been doing their best to tackle the challenges set by the pandemic, the difficult time also incubated disruptive thoughts, such as pandemic-related conspiracy theories. In China, the pandemic as well as the recently rising sentiment of nationalism caused the prevalence of the so-called nationalism conspiracy theoriesthe conspiracy theories that mix with nationalistic sentiment and that aim to devalue the other country. The most influential one of this kind is the one that claims the virus was manufactured by the United States and was used as a biological weapon to undermine Chinese economic development. In the current study, with a quantitative design, I intended to investigate the personality and attitudinal antecedents of nationalism conspiracy beliefs, based on evolutionary psychology as well as the political psychology perspective. Via a set of regression analysis, it has been found that one's average score of the Dark Triad Personality (i.e., the general darkness) but not the impression about the target country, which was significant predictors of nationalism beliefs. Theoretical and practical implications were also discussed.