Risk factors associated with Toxoplasma gondii infection in free-range chickens in the semiarid region of Brazil

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the frequency of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in serum from 629 chickens on 39 family farms in seven municipalities in the semiarid region, Pernambuco, Brazil, and to identify risk factors associated with T. gondii infection. The risk factors were studied in 421 samples from 29 farms. Anti-T. gondii antibodies were investigated by indirect fluorescent antibody test with a 1:16 cutoff. The frequency of positive chickens was 27.9% (176/629) and 94.8% of the farms studied had chickens infected by T. gondii. Multivariate analysis showed variables significantly associated with anti-T. gondii antibodies in serum: slaughter of animals on the farm, reproductive disorders in sheep, consumption of fetal adnexa and placentas by chickens, presence of sheep in the property and birth of sheep the property. The results suggest that there is a complex relationship between general management practices for different animal species raised on the same farm and the prevalence of T. gondii infection in chickens. In addition, the results draw attention to the risk of human infection by T. gondii via consumption of infected chicken meat, because the farming conditions and the low human development indices observed in the region studied result in inappropriate meat preparation practices.

Occurrence of Atypical and New Genotypes of Toxoplasma Gondii in Free-Range Chickens Intended for Human Consumption in Brazil

“…[16,17]. In the northeast region of Brazil, studies conducted with backyard chickens have described a prevalence of T. gondii up 40.56% by means the IFAT, and 94.8% of studied farm with at least one positive animal [18,19], similar to our results, where 36% of animals and 100% of farms were considered positive.…”

Cross-sectional survey for toxoplasmosis in free-range chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) from the Atlantic Forest area in Alagoas state, Northeastern Brazil

“…However, the properly standardized IFAT can produce high sensitivity and specificity, being a reproducible option when available, and very effective using cut-off ≥16 in field studies in chickens. The prevalence rate in the current study was higher compared to most of the recent surveys carried out in Brazil, with the reported rates varying from 17.2% to 31.5% (Feitosa et al, 2016;Millar et al, 2012;Sá et al, 2017), which indicates that, compared to intensive industrial systems, T. gondii is more wide-spread in free-range systems and soil is probably the main source of oocysts. Furthermore, the chickens have a shorter life span in the industrial systems and contact with cats and contaminated soil is less likely in this scenario (Liu et al, 2017).…”

“…The use of food scraps for feeding free-range chickens was associated with a 60.3% increase in the prevalence, indicating that the animals that receive mixed feeding are more likely to be seropositive. This fact may be related to the consumption habits of the owners because in Brazil, eating undercooked meat and feeding animals with leftover meat and raw viscera is a common practice (Sá et al, 2017). In these cases, rectification and improvement 5/6 T. gondii in free-range chickens, Northeast Brazil of management systems is an alternative method, which can be employed to reduce the frequency of the disease in backyard farms (Feitosa et al, 2016).…”

Molecular prevalence and genetic diversity of Toxoplasma gondii in free range chicken in Northeastern Libya

“…Thus, this could explain the high prevalence of infection in free-range chicken in that region compared to other regions. Al Marj district’s surrounding environment is a rural area, as in the case of Brazil, where a high prevalence between 46.0% and 50% was free-range chickens in rural areas, indicating widespread contamination of the rural environment of that country with T. gondii oocysts ( Sá et al ., 2017 ; Tonouhewa et al ., 2017 ).…”