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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #282664
Title: Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in domestic sheep in Oaxaca State, Mexico

Author
item ALVARADO-ESQUIVEL, COSME - Juarez University Of The State Of Durango
item ESTRADA-MALACON, MIGUEL - State Committee For Development And Livestock Protection Of The State Of Oaxaca Ac
item REYES-HERNANDEZ, SONIA - State Committee For Development And Livestock Protection Of The State Of Oaxaca Ac
item PEREZ-RAMIREZ, JOSE - State Committee For Development And Livestock Protection Of The State Of Oaxaca Ac
item TRUJILLO-LOPEZ, JOSE - State Committee For Development And Livestock Protection Of The State Of Oaxaca Ac
item VILLENA, ISABELLE - Hopital Maison Blanche
item Dubey, Jitender

Submitted to: Journal of Parasitology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/1/2012
Publication Date: 4/1/2013
Citation: Alvarado-Esquivel, C., Estrada-Malacon, M., Reyes-Hernandez, S., Perez-Ramirez, J., Trujillo-Lopez, J., Villena, I., Dubey, J.P. 2013. Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma Gondii Infection in Domestic Sheep in Oaxaca State, Mexico. Journal of Parasitology. 99:151-152.

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 under cooked meat from infected animals and food and water contaminated with oocysts. In previously reported studies, an association was found between consumption of sheep meat and toxoplasmosis in humans. In the present study, authors found Toxoplasma antibodies in 23.1% of 429 domestic sheep from 4 farms in Oaxaca state, Mexico. The results will be of interest to biologists, parasitologists, and public health workers.

Technical Abstract: The seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in sheep in southern Mexico is largely unknown. Antibodies to T. gondii were determined in serum samples of 429 sheep from 4 farms in 2 geographical regions in Oaxaca State, Mexico using the modified agglutination test (MAT); 99 (23.1%) of the 429 sheep had MAT titers of 1:25 in 35, 1:50 in 18, 1:100 in 7, 1:200 in 1, 1:400 in 3, 1:800 in 10, 1:1,600 in 5, and 1:3,200 or higher in 20. Seroprevalence of T. gondii infection varied with management, breed of sheep and location. Seroprevalence was significantly higher in sheep raised under semi-intensive conditions than in those raised under semi-extensive conditions. The seroprevalence of T. gondii infection was significantly higher in mixed breed than in pure breed sheep. Sheep raised in temperate climate in municipalities at 1,560-1,600 m above sea level (Central Valley region) had a significantly higher seroprevalence of T. gondii infection than those raised in semi-arid and warm-humid climates in municipalities at 1,020-1,080 m of altitude (Cañada region) (29.8% versus 7.1%, respectively). This is the first report of T. gondii infection in sheep in Oaxaca State, Mexico.