Spatial distribution of soil contaminated with Toxoplasma gondii oocysts in relation to the distribution and use of domestic cat defecation sites on dairy farms

Simon, Julie Alice; Kurdzielewicz, S.; Jeanniot, E.; Dupuis, Emilie; Marnef, Francine; Aubert, Dominique; Villena, Isabelle; Poulle, Marie-Lazarine

doi:10.1016/j.ijpara.2017.01.004

Cited by 33 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…The spread and impact of T. gondii is a quintessential example of One Health (Aguirre et al, 2019) because ecological disruptions, such as habitat degradation (Shapiro et al, 2010), extinction of native predators (Hollings et al, 2013) and the spread of an invasive domestic species (De Wit et al, 2017; Shwab et al, 2018), are synergistically elevating the risk of T. gondii epidemics to both human and wildlife populations. Molecular epidemiological studies are increasingly linking the relative risk of T. gondii exposure to the distribution of free‐roaming domestic cats (Shapiro, VanWormer, et al, 2019; Simon et al, 2017). The ability of T. gondii to persist in the soil, water and food chain makes it a formidable environmental pathogen, underscoring the urgency of limiting sources of pathogen pollution from domestic cats.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction of diet and habitat predicts Toxoplasma gondii infection rates in wild birds at a global scale

Wilson¹,

Lapen

Mitchell

et al. 2020

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. Abstract Aim: Free-ranging wildlife are valuable sentinels for zoonotic, multi-host pathogens, and new insight into parasite transmission patterns is possible through a macroecological approach. Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan capable of infecting all warmblooded animals, including humans, primarily through a free-living oocyst and/or tissue cyst life stage. Anthropogenic disturbance is facilitating the spread of T. gondii, making it crucial to understand the general ecological and life-history drivers of T. gondii infections in wild birds, which are important intermediate hosts. Our goal was to determine how habitat (terrestrial versus aquatic), dietary trophic level and scavenging behaviour influence the prevalence of T. gondii infection in wild birds at a global scale. Location: Global. Time period: 1952-2017. Major taxa studied: Birds.Methods: Our analysis used the serological, bioassay and molecular prevalence data of T. gondii in avian species compiled from 81 studies conducted worldwide and encompassing 24,344 individuals from 393 avian species from 84 families. Results:We showed that at a global scale, trophic level and habitat interacted significantly to influence T. gondii prevalence in avian intermediate hosts. In the terrestrial environment, T. gondii prevalence increased with trophic level, consistent with predominant tissue cyst transmission. The highest prevalence was in terrestrial omnivores, which might reflect their synanthropic foraging behaviour. In aquatic species, prevalence was more consistent across trophic levels, but high prevalence in aquatic herbivores and insectivores reflects significant waterborne exposure to oocysts.Contrary to our predictions, generalized scavenging per se was not associated with increased prevalence. Main conclusions:This study highlights the value of comparing pathogen prevalence among multiple ecological guilds and ecosystem types for a more comprehensive understanding of the epidemiology of generalist pathogens, such as T. gondii. Increased B I OS K E TCH S U PP O RTI N G I N FO R M ATI O NAdditional supporting information may be found online in the Supporting Information section.We are a group of governmental and non-governmental researchers with a research focus on anthropogenic impacts on wildlife and human health. We adopt a One Health approach to examine zoonotic diseases whose epidemiology is linked to anthropogenic activities, such as urbanization and agricultural activity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction of diet and habitat predicts Toxoplasma gondii infection rates in wild birds at a global scale

Wilson¹,

Lapen

Mitchell

et al. 2020

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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“…Latrines were defined as clusters of more than two faecal deposits with nearby paw prints, whereas scattered faeces were defined as no more than two clustered faeces (Simon et al, ). We identified each latrine and scattered faeces with an alphanumeric number and weighed and collected 20–50 g of soil from beneath the surface area of the latrines and the scattered faeces at an approximate depth of 2–5 cm as described by Simon et al (). We also collected faecal samples opportunistically if they were no more than approximately two days old based on texture and smell.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We subdivided each 20–50 g of soil sample into 4–10 replicates of 5 g (hitherto referred as sub‐samples) and processed the entire sample. We processed soil sub‐samples using a method modified from the sucrose flotation method described by Lelu et al () and Simon et al (). Briefly, we added 2.5 ml of 2% sulphuric acid to each 5‐g replicate and vortexed the solution for 1 min.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Free‐roaming domestic cats play a critical role in environmental contamination with T. gondii oocysts (Gotteland et al, ; Simon et al, ; VanWormer et al, ). Cat colonies are often found in areas with high contact with people and where access to food sources are greater (Kilgour et al, ; Schmidt, Lopez, & Colliter, ), such as parks, playgrounds and community gardens.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are few studies of T. gondii oocysts in soil, in part due to limitations in current methods of sampling and detection (Dumètre & Dardé, ; Lelu et al, ; Shapiro et al, ; Su, Shwab, Zhou, Zhu, & Dubey, ). Prior investigations have been conducted in temperate or subtropical regions (Afonso, Thulliez, & Gilot‐fromont, ; Davis et al, ; Du et al, ; Gotteland et al, ; Lass et al, ; Liu et al, ; Simon et al, ) with T. gondii prevalence in soil ranging from 0% (0/120, 95% CI = 0–3) in Hawaii, USA to nearly 50% (278/558, 95% CI = 45.7–54) in Northeastern France. However, few of these studies have analysed spatial or temporal variation in the patterns of T. gondii in soil.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seasonal and spatial variation in Toxoplasma gondii contamination in soil in urban public spaces in California, United States

Wit

Kilpatrick

VanWormer

et al. 2019

Zoonoses and Public Health

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Background: Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic parasite that can have severe implications for human health. Acutely infected cats shed environmentally resistant T. gondii oocysts in their faeces that contaminate soil, and soil can serve as a reservoir of infection for humans. Free-roaming domestic cats are thought to play an important role in environmental contamination with T. gondii, but few studies have directly measured the direct contribution of free-roaming cats to T. gondii in soil. Methods:Our goals were to determine whether T. gondii soil contamination occurs in public areas with free-roaming cat colonies in central California and examine spatial and temporal variation in soil contamination. We initially performed spiking experiments to compare the limit of T. gondii detection in soil using three conventional nested PCR assays and one real-time quantitative PCR. The nested PCR targeting the internal transcribed spacer (ITS-1) of the small subunit ribosomal RNA was the most sensitive assay, with a limit of detection between 20 and 200 oocysts per gram of soil. We applied the ITS1 PCR assay on soil from sites in city and state parks, public playgrounds and community gardens in central California, USA. Samples were collected during spring, summer and fall and in sites located along the coast and inland. Results:We detected and sequence-confirmed T. gondii in 5.6% of all of our soil subsamples, but with large seasonal and spatial variation in soil contamination: we only detected T. gondii during fall and only in coastal sites (44.3% soil prevalence), despite similar sampling intensity across space and time. Conclusions:Our results suggest that free-roaming cat colonies are an important source of T. gondii in spaces where people recreate and grow food and that soil contamination is highly seasonal and spatially variable. Management of free-roaming cats could prevent T. gondii infections by reducing environmental contamination with this zoonotic pathogen. K E Y W O R D Sfree-roaming cats, management, molecular detection, public health, sea otters | 71 de WIT eT al.

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New prevalence surveillance of Toxoplasma gondii among rodents and stray cats by ELISA avidity and nested PCR methods, Northeast of Iran

2019

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Rodents and stray cats are the sources of many parasitic infections including T. gondii, for other animals and human. Toxoplasmosis has a wide range of laboratory factors in its intermediate and definite hosts. Regarding the importance of rodents and stray cats as the hosts that spread the Toxoplasma gondii, it is necessary to obtain comprehensive information about these animals in the life cycle of T. gondii. The objective was to investigate the new prevalence of toxoplasmosis among target animals in Iran, using GRA6 gene in combinacion with ELISA avidity. In this study, 286 rodents and 210 stray cats were collected and their heart tissues extracted to obtain DNA, blood samples and IgG Ab of T.gondii parasite. We detected the positive tissue samples in our study by the nested-PCR method. Then, we examined T. gondii IgG ELISA avidity for assessment of toxoplasmosis among rodents and stray cats. This study, was conducted in January to March 2017, based on the prevalence study. The findings revealed that 246/286 (86.01%) of rodents and 180/210 (85.71%) of stray cats were positive by IgG ELISA avidity methods. moreover, 68 rodents samples and 38 stray cats samples were positive concerning the GRA6 Toxoplasma gene; and these positive samples were at intermediate levels for IgG avidity. We concluded that the new prevalence of toxoplasmosis among rodents and stray cats was at high levels, using the serologic method in Northeast of Iran and the results of quantitative ELISA avidity were as the same as those of the nested-PCR for detecting recent toxoplasmosis in these hosts.

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Spatial distribution of soil contaminated with Toxoplasma gondii oocysts in relation to the distribution and use of domestic cat defecation sites on dairy farms

Cited by 33 publications

References 56 publications

Interaction of diet and habitat predicts Toxoplasma gondii infection rates in wild birds at a global scale

Interaction of diet and habitat predicts Toxoplasma gondii infection rates in wild birds at a global scale

Seasonal and spatial variation in Toxoplasma gondii contamination in soil in urban public spaces in California, United States

New prevalence surveillance of Toxoplasma gondii among rodents and stray cats by ELISA avidity and nested PCR methods, Northeast of Iran

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