Serological survey for anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in sheep of northeastern Algeria

Seroprevalence Assessment and Risk Factor Analysis of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Goats from Northeastern Algeria

“…Several reports have shown a negative correlation between flock size and T. gondii seroprevalence [ 34 , 41 ], and that was not recorded in the present study. The same outcome of T. gondii infection in herds with small and large numbers of animals was reported in other studies [ 29 , 42 , 53 ]. In addition, common pastures did not appear as a risk factor; thus, contact with other herds of goats or other livestock animals had no effect on T. gondii exposure.…”

“…The seroprevalence found in this investigation (53.26%) was greater than that identified in central Algeria (11.92%) and Djelfa province (13.21%), as determined by indirect ELISA and indirect fluorescent anti-body tests (IFATs), respectively [ 27 , 28 ]. The rate of anti- T. gondii antibody prevalence in goats in this study was found to be lower than that (71.74%) reported in the humid areas of Mila province using an ELISA test [ 20 ], but higher than the rate of infection (35.37%) revealed in sheep in the arid and semiarid regions of northeastern Algeria using an ELISA test [ 29 ]. According to multiple studies that have employed diverse serological tests such as ELISA, IFAT, and LAT, the overall prevalence of T. gondii in goats in Algeria has been shown to range from 11.92% to 71.74% with an average rate of 33.61% [ 21 ].…”

“…The prevalence of T. gondii in our study was insignificantly higher in farms with a history of reproductive disorders, as recorded by other authors [ 33 , 34 , 42 ]. It seems there was a direct relationship between the history of abortion and the seropositivity rate of T. gondii [ 29 , 57 ]. Moreover, the proportion of abortions and number of aborted fetuses in the last year were in significant correlation with the occurrence of T. gondii , consistently with the findings of Benlakehal et al [ 29 ] and Gharekhani et al [ 58 ], whereas an insignificant association was reported previously [ 34 , 42 , 54 ].…”

Cross-Sectional Survey on Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Cattle, Sheep, and Goats in Algeria: Seroprevalence and Risk Factors

“…However, some of the discrepancy between the reported results could be due to (1) the small sample size of animals, which may impair the representativity and objectivity of data; (2) the wide geographic area concerned or covered; (3) management practices (traditional, semi-intensive, and extensive); and (4) the serological methods used for detecting the infection. In this study, and in another recently published paper [25], the ELISA technique was used, whereas the results reported earlier in Algeria were obtained through an indirect immunofluorescence test (IFAT) [19] and microscopic agglutination test (MAT) [23]. This difference may be due to the sensitivity and specificity of the different serological methods applied [6,12].…”

Abortive diseases and their various associated risk factors in small ruminants in Algeria: a systematic review

“…The main risk factors associated with toxoplasma infection were age, sex, region, season management system (herd size, presence of goats in sheep flocks) (Dechicha et al 2015 ; Dahmani et al 2018 ; Benlakehal et al 2019 ; Mohamed-Cherif et al 2019 ; Ait Issaad et al 2020 ), and reproductive disorders (abortion stage, and flocks with a history of abortion) (Benlakehal et al 2019 ; Dahmane et al 2020 ; Ait Issaad et al 2020 ).…”