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Title: CHARACTERIZATION OF TOXOPLASMAA GONDII ISOLATES IN FREE-RANGE CHICKENS FROM CHILE, SOUTH AMERICA

Author
item Dubey, Jitender
item PATITUCCI, A - TEMUCO, CHILE
item SU, C - U TENNESSEE, KNOXVILLE
item SUNDAR, N - USDA ARS ANRI APDL MD
item Kwok, Oliver
item Shen, Samuel

Submitted to: Veterinary Parasitology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/28/2006
Publication Date: 8/1/2006
Citation: Dubey, J.P., Patitucci, A.N., Su, C., Sundar, N., Kwok, O.C., Shen, S.K. 2006. Characterization of Toxoplasmaa gondii isolates in free-range chickens from Chile, South America. Veterinary Parasitology. 140:76-82.

Interpretive Summary: Toxoplasma gondii is a single-celled parasite of all warm-blooded hosts worldwide. It causes mental retardation and loss of vision in children, and abortion in livestock. Cats are the main reservoir of T. gondii because they are the only hosts that can excrete the resistant stage (oocyst) of the parasite in the feces. Humans become infected by eating undercooked meat from infected animals and food and water contaminated with oocysts.Toxoplasmosis causes mortality in many species of animals in the zoos, especially primates. Scientists at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and a university in Chile, South America report the first genetic characterization of Toxoplasma from chickens from Chile.. The results will be of interest to biologists, parasitologists, and veterinarians.

Technical Abstract: The prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in free-ranging chickens is a good indicator of the prevalence of T. gondii oocysts in the soil because chickens feed from the ground. The prevalence of T. gondii in 85 free-range chickens (Gallus domesticus) from Chile was determined. Antibodies to T. gondii were assayed by the modified agglutination test (MAT), and found in 47 of 85 (55.3.9 %) chickens with titers of 1:5 in six, 1:10 in four, 1:20 in four 1: 40 in three, 1: 80 in nine, 1: 160 in four 1:320 in nine, and 1: 640 or higher in eight. Hearts and brains of 47 chickens with titers of 1:5 or higher were pooled for each chicken and bioassayed in mice. Tissues from 16 seronegative (MAT <1:5) chickens were pooled and fed to one T. gondii-free cat. Feces of the cat were examined for oocysts but none was found based on bioassay of fecal floats in mice. Hearts and brains from nine seronegative (< 1:5) were pooled and bioassayed in mice; T. gondii was not isolated. T. gondii was isolated by bioassay in mice from 22 chickens with MAT titers of 1:10 or higher. Genotyping of these 21 isolates using polymorphisms at the loci SAG1, SAG2, SAG3, BTUB and GRA6 revealed three genotypes. Sixteen isolates had type II alleles and four isolates had type III alleles at all loci. One isolate contained the combination of type I and III alleles. This is the first report of genetic characterization of T. gondii isolates from Chile, South America.