Seroprevalence of antibodies of Neospora spp. and Toxoplasma gondii in horses from southern Italy

Bártová, Eva; Machačová, Tereza; Sedlák, Kamil; Budíková, Marie; Mariani, Ugo; Veneziano, Vincenzo

doi:10.14411/fp.2015.043

Cited by 21 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…raised in two farms in the south-western part of the study area, where outbreaks of bovine besnoitiosis were recently reported [3,4] infection, ten horses were positive to the parasite, resulting a prevalence of 3.7%; whereas no donkey showed antibodies against T. gondii. Epidemiological studies conducted in Southern Italy using IFAT reported a seroprevalence of 3% in horses [10] and 8% in donkeys [9]. A similar seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in equids (2-4%) was reported in Greece and in Switzerland;…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptsupporting

confidence: 58%

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First detection of anti- Besnoitia spp. specific antibodies in horses and donkeys in Italy

Villa

Gazzonis

Álvarez‐García

et al. 2018

Parasitology International

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Among Apicomplexa protozoa infecting equids, Besnoitia spp., Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora spp. represent important issues from a sanitary and zootechnical viewpoint. However, only scarce epidemiological data are available on the spread of the infections in horses and donkeys in Europe. Therefore, a serosurvey was planned to estimate the prevalence of these Sarcocystidae species in Italian equids. Serum samples from 268 horses and 18 donkeys raised in Italy were collected and serologically analyzed to detect anti-Besnoitia spp., anti-T. gondii and anti-Neospora spp. antibodies: an approach based on an initial screening by in-house ELISA followed by a confirmatory WB was used. Two horses (0.7%) and four donkeys (22.2%), showed antibodies anti-Besnoitia spp. Ten horses (3.7%) resulted positive to T. gondii and one of these (0.4%) was seropositive also to Neospora spp. This is the first detection of anti-Besnoitia spp. specific antibodies in Italian horses and donkeys. The study confirmed the circulation of Besnoitia spp. among equids in Europe. Low prevalence of T. gondii and Neospora spp. in horses raised in Italy was reported. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy to consider that consumption of horse meat could represent a source for human toxoplasmosis.

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Section: Accepted Manuscriptsupporting

confidence: 58%

“…(2.3-28%) has been reported in equids reared in Southern Italy [7,8,9,10]. In Northern Italy data are limited to T. gondii infection in horses destined for human consumption (17.6%) [11], although the presence of the parasite in this area was recently reported in other domestic and wild species [12,13,14,15].…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 96%

First detection of anti- Besnoitia spp. specific antibodies in horses and donkeys in Italy

Villa

Gazzonis

Álvarez‐García

et al. 2018

Parasitology International

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“…This was probably due to a greater probability of exposure to T. gondii oocysts in males because of the active characteristic of roosters. Many studies indicated that gender was not a risk factor for toxoplasmosis [ 1 , 13 ]. However, T. gondii change the concentration of steroid hormones in the host and enhance the susceptibility of males or females to toxoplasmosis; it was decided by the stains T. gondii [ 14 , 15 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxoplasma gondiiandNeospora caninumin Free-Range Chickens in Henan Province of China

Feng

Wang

et al. 2016

BioMed Research International

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Background. Chickens serve as an intermediate host for Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum; infection of free-range (FR) chickens with these organisms is a useful indicator of soil and environmental contamination with oocysts. A total of 700 FR chicken serum samples and 300 heart samples were collected from Henan province from March to July 2015. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 18.86% (132/700) of the chickens by modified agglutination test (cut-off 1 : 25), while 23.14% (162/700) were positive for N. caninum by indirect fluorescent antibody test (cut-off 1 : 25). T. gondii DNA was detected in the myocardium digestion liquids of 4/25 (16%) FR chickens. The PCR results of N. caninum DNA from FR chicken myocardium digestion liquids (n = 25) were all negative. Attempts to isolate viable T. gondii were unsuccessful. The results showed that there were antibodies to T. gondii and N. caninum in FR chickens from Henan province. Accordingly, effective control of feces from cats and dogs and improved pets hygiene habits were needed. To the author's knowledge, this is the first report of the presence of N. caninum antibody in chickens from China.

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“…in [29, 30]). Recent studies in Europe have shown seropositivity rates of 1.7% in Greece [31], 10.8% in Spain [32], 3% [33] and 17.6% in Italy [34], 23% in the Czech Republic [35], 37.8% in Romania [36], and from 13 to 90% (depending on the cut-off) in France [37]. It is difficult to assess whether the reported data represent real differences in the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection or possibly reflect the use of different assays, different cut-offs for modified agglutination assays or perhaps intrinsic differences in the study samples regarding age and/or true origin of the animals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The first isolation and molecular characterization of Toxoplasma gondii from horses in Serbia

et al. 2017

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BackgroundConsumption of undercooked or insufficiently cured meat is a major risk factor for human infection with Toxoplasma gondii. Although horsemeat is typically consumed rare or undercooked, information on the risk of T. gondii from infected horse meat to humans is scarce. Here, we present the results of a study to determine the presence of T. gondii infection in slaughter horses in Serbia, and to attempt to isolate viable parasites.MethodsThe study included horses from all regions of Serbia slaughtered at two abattoirs between June 2013 and June 2015. Blood sera were tested for the presence of specific IgG T. gondii antibodies by the modified agglutination test (MAT), and samples of trypsin-digested heart tissue were bioassayed in mice. Cyst-positive mouse brain homogenates were subjected to DNA extraction and T. gondii strains were genotyped using 15 microsatellite markers (MS).ResultsA total of 105 slaughter horses were sampled. At the 1:6 cut-off 48.6% of the examined horses were seropositive, with the highest titre being 1:400. Viable parasites were isolated from two grade type mares; both parasite isolates (RS-Eq39 and RS-Eq40) were T. gondii type III, and both displayed an increased lethality for mice with successive passages. These are the first cases of isolation of T. gondii from horses in Serbia. When compared with a worldwide collection of 61 type III and type III-like strains, isolate RS-Eq39 showed a combination of MS lengths similar to a strain isolated from a duck in Iran, and isolate RS-Eq40 was identical in all markers to three strains isolated from a goat from Gabon, a sheep from France and a pig from Portugal. Interestingly, the source horses were one seronegative and one weakly seropositive.ConclusionsThe isolation of viable T. gondii parasites from slaughter horses points to horsemeat as a potential source of human infection, but the fact that viable parasites were isolated from horses with only a serological trace of T. gondii infection presents further evidence that serology may not be adequate to assess the risk of toxoplasmosis from horsemeat consumption. Presence of T. gondii type III in Serbia sheds more light into the potential origin of this archetypal lineage in Europe.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-017-2104-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Seroprevalence of antibodies of Neospora spp. and Toxoplasma gondii in horses from southern Italy

Cited by 21 publications

References 14 publications

First detection of anti- Besnoitia spp. specific antibodies in horses and donkeys in Italy

First detection of anti- Besnoitia spp. specific antibodies in horses and donkeys in Italy

Toxoplasma gondiiandNeospora caninumin Free-Range Chickens in Henan Province of China

The first isolation and molecular characterization of Toxoplasma gondii from horses in Serbia

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