Seroprevalence and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection in sheep and goats slaughtered for human consumption in Central Ethiopia

BMC Research Notes

Tesfaye Sisay Tessema³  Tsehaye Hadush¹  Mukarim Abdurahaman²  Endrias Zewdu Gebremedhin⁴ 

[1] College of Veterinary Medicine, Samera University, P.O.Box 132, Samera, Ethiopia;College of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture, Jimma University, P.O.Box 307, Jimma, Ethiopia;Institute of Biotechnology, College of Natural and computational Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;Department of Veterinary Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences Ambo University, P.O.Box 19, Ambo, Ethiopia

关键词: Central Ethiopia;    Seroprevalence;    Toxoplasma gondii;    Goat;    Sheep;    DAT;   

Others  :  1127339
DOI  :  10.1186/1756-0500-7-696

 received in 2013-12-15, accepted in 2014-10-02,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

Toxoplasmosis is one of the most common parasitic zoonoses worldwide. Humans get infections with T. gondii after ingesting raw or undercooked meat or oocysts via contaminated soil, food or water; or congenitally by transplacental transmission of tachyzoites. The objectives of the present study were to estimate the seroprevalence and assess risk factors for T. gondii infection in sheep and goats slaughtered for human consumption in Central Ethiopia.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was carried out from September, 2011 to November, 2012 in randomly selected small ruminants (n = 628). Direct Agglutination Test (DAT) was used to detect IgG antibodies specific to T. gondii. A titer of 1: 40 or 1: 4000 or both was considered indicative of T. gondii exposure. Logistic regression was used to assess potential risk factors.

Results

An overall seroprevalence of 17.68% (111/628) (95% confidence interval [CI]:14.77 − 20.89) was detected. Twenty percent (61/305) seroprevalence (95% CI: 15.6 − 624.94) in sheep was found with a reciprocal end titers of 60 in fourteen, 180 in three, 540 in two, 1620 in five, 6000 in nine, 18000 in six, 54000 in eleven and 162000 in eleven. Similarly, seroprevalence of 15.48% (50/323) (95% CI:11.71 − 19.89) in goats was found with a reciprocal end titers of 60 in eighteen, 180 in five, 540 in three, 1620 in seven, 6000 in four, 18000 in four, 54000 in five and 162000 in four. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of T. gondii infection was significantly higher in adult sheep (adjusted Odd ratio (aOR) = 2.02, 95% CI: 1.10 − 3.70; P = 0.023) than in young sheep and in sheep sampled during the dry season (aOR = 4.19, 95% CI: 1.55 − 11.33, P = 0.005) than those sampled during wet season.

Conclusions

The seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in small ruminants slaughtered for human consumption in Central Ethiopia is high. Age and season are significant predictors of seropositivity in sheep. The study highlighted the importance of meat of small ruminants as a potential source of infection for humans. Prevention of the spread of the disease through farm biosecurity measures is essential.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Gebremedhin et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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