Toxoplasma gondii in Switzerland: a serosurvey based on meat juice analysis of slaughtered pigs, wild boar, sheep and cattle

Berger, Andrea; Bernet, Daniel; Doherr, Marcus; Gottstein, Bruno; Frey, Caroline (2011). Toxoplasma gondii in Switzerland: a serosurvey based on meat juice analysis of slaughtered pigs, wild boar, sheep and cattle. Zoonoses and public health, 58(7), pp. 472-8. Berlin: Wiley-Blackwell 10.1111/j.1863-2378.2011.01395.x

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Toxoplasmosis is one of the most important zoonotic diseases worldwide and is caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. Besides vertical infection during pregnancy, humans can get infected post-natally either by peroral uptake of sporulated Toxoplasma oocysts or by ingestion of tissue cysts upon consumption of raw or undercooked meat. The aim of this study was to approximate the risk of human infection via meat consumption by estimating the seroprevalence of T. gondii in slaughtered animals in Switzerland and to compare data with prevalences assessed 10 years ago. The study included pigs, cattle, sheep and wild boar of different age groups and housing conditions whenever possible and applicable. A P-30-ELISA was used to detect T. gondii-specific antibodies and to determine seroprevalences in meat juice of slaughtered animals. A total of 270 domestic pigs (120 adults, 50 finishing, 100 free-ranging animals), 150 wild boars, 250 sheep (150 adults, 100 lambs) and 406 cattle (47 calves, 129 heifers, 100 bulls, 130 adult cows) were tested. Seropositivity increased with the age of the assessed animals. Independent of the age-group, the overall seroprevalence was lowest in wild boars (6.7%), followed by pigs (23.3%), cattle (45.6%) and sheep (61.6%), respectively. Conventional fattening pigs and free-ranging pigs surprisingly had comparable seroprevalences (14.0% and 13.0%, respectively). Unlike in other European countries, where generally a decrease in the number of seropositive animals had been observed, we found that the prevalence of seropositive animals, when compared with that of 10 years ago, had increased for most species/age groups. Conclusively, the results demonstrated a high seroprevalence of T. gondii in animals slaughtered for meat production and revealed that increasing age of the animals is a more important risk factor than housing conditions in Switzerland.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP) > Institute of Parasitology
05 Veterinary Medicine > Research Foci > Host-Pathogen Interaction
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH) > Veterinary Public Health Institute
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP)
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH)
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP) > Institute for Fish and Wildlife Health (FIWI)

UniBE Contributor:

Berger, Andrea, Bernet, Daniel, Doherr, Marcus, Gottstein, Bruno, Frey Marreros Canales, Caroline Franziska

Subjects:

600 Technology > 630 Agriculture

ISSN:

1863-1959

Publisher:

Wiley-Blackwell

Language:

English

Submitter:

Factscience Import

Date Deposited:

04 Oct 2013 14:31

Last Modified:

02 Mar 2023 23:21

Publisher DOI:

10.1111/j.1863-2378.2011.01395.x

PubMed ID:

21824348

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.11983

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/11983 (FactScience: 218252)

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