Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii in domestic cattle, sheep, goats and pigs from São Tomé and Príncipe

Abstract

Despite the global importance of the zoonotic parasite Toxoplasma gondii, little is known regarding its infection in the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe (DRSTP). This is the first report of antibodies to T. gondii in cattle, sheep, goats and pigs from the DRSTP. Antibodies were assessed by the modified agglutination test (MAT), with a cut-off titer of 100 for cattle and 20 for sheep, goats and pigs. The present study revealed an overall seroprevalence of 55.8%; 27.1% in 48 cattle, 68.4% in 98 sheep, 70.1% in 97 goats and 43.7% in 103 pigs. The south geographical area for cattle, the central area for sheep, and adult age and living in the central region for goats were found to be risk factors for seropositivity to T. gondii. These results support the scenario of a considerable presence of sporulated oocysts as well as of infected intermediate hosts in the local environment. Consumption of raw or undercooked meat should be considered as an important potential source of infection for animals and humans in the DRSTP.

Seroprevalence and risk assessment of Toxoplasma gondii infection in sheep and goats in North and Beqaa governorates of Lebanon

“…This was in accordance with a study conducted in Mongolia, where young goats of 1-2 years old were found to have a higher T. gondii seroprevalence (39.7%) compared to older animals (3-4 years old, 27.9%; 5-6 years old, 28.3%) [13]. Other studies conducted in Algeria, Pakistan, São Tomé, Bangladesh, and South Africa have demonstrated similar results [14,25,27,28,32,37,38]. This variation could be due to the repetitive exposure of adult animals to oocysts from the environment for a longer period of time than younger animals.…”

“…In contrast, a study conducted in Pakistan reported a higher prevalence of T. gondii in goats (42.8%) compared to sheep (26.2%) [34]. Similar findings were also reported in Egypt and São Tomé [14,19]. These were mainly attributed to the husbandry strategy and herding practices of goats since they are allowed greater movement, enhancing their contact with sporulated oocysts sources, whereas sheep are usually housekept and less exposed to parasitic contamination [34].…”

“…Pregnant Lebanese women have the highest seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii immunoglobulin G (IgG) in the Arab region, reaching 82.6%, with a rate of primary Toxoplasma infection during pregnancy estimated at 1.8% [6]. The prevalence of T. gondii in meat-producing animals has been widely reported across the world [4,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. However, similar national data is limited and consists of one report examining the seroprevalence of T. gondii in a limited number of specimens in one geographical area in Lebanon [15].…”

Geospatial Distribution of Toxoplasmosis Prevalence among Livestock, Pets and Humans in China, 1984-2020

“…Among livestock, T. gondii has been found more prevalent in sheep, goats and pigs, than in cattle [4]. Sheep and goats are perceived as biological indicators for the contamination of the environment with sporulated oocysts of T. gondii, because they usually opt for grasses closer to the ground or leaves of shrubs [24][25]. In the present work, the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis among sheep and goats ranged from 3.98-43.02% in China.…”

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in sheep and goats from different geographical regions of the world: Systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…The meta-analysis results suggest that seroprevalence is higher in adult and female animals. It is expected as adult animals are exposed to the T. gondii for longer period of time than the young animals (Bahrieni et al, 2008;Pereira et al, 2020). However, to poor immunity of young animal.…”