Seroprevalence and risk factors associated with Toxoplasma gondii and Chlamydia abortus infection in domestic small ruminants in Cameroon

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis and abortive chlamydia continues to spread and cause considerable economic losses in small ruminant farms. The objectives of this study were to determine the seroprevalence and highlight the risk factors associated with Toxoplasma gondii and Chlamydia abortus infection in small ruminants in Cameroon. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 200 small ruminant farms during a period from April to October 2021. A total of 1061 small ruminants were sampled and the sera obtained were analysed using the indirect multi-species ELISA test for toxoplasmosis and abortive chlamydia at the national veterinary laboratory. A questionnaire was constructed to collect information about flock management and animal risk factors possibly associated with Toxoplasma gondii and Chlamydia abortus infection in goats and sheep. Overall, 329 small ruminants tested positive for Toxoplasma gondii and 45 for Chlamydia abortus with a prevalence of 31.01% (95% CI: 28.23 - 33.79) for toxoplasmosis and 4.24% (95% CI: 3.03 - 5.45) for chlamydia abortus, respectively. However, a significant co-infection of 1.82% (95% CI: 0.37 - 3.27) was obtained between Toxoplasma gondii and Chlamydia abortus (p=0.02). Univariate analysis showed that region (p=0.0001), species (p=0.0001), sex (p=0.0002), age (p=0.0002) and breed (p=0.01) were the risk factors associated with the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in small ruminant farms in Cameroon; while breed (p=0.0001) and the presence of abortion (p=0.0003) were identified as risk factors strongly associated with the seroprevalence of Chlamydia abortus . These results could be used to implement efficient management measures to prevent and control Toxoplasma gondii and Chlamydia abortus infection in goats and sheep in Cameroon.