High Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in Slovenian Wild Boars (Sus scrofa)

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic parasite of great public health concern. Wild boars could be considered an emerging source of toxoplasmosis in humans due to the popularity of venison and their increasing population. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of T. gondii in the Slovenian wild boar population and evaluate risk factors for human infection. Of 353 samples, 62% were positive for T. gondii using ELISA tests. This is the highest T. gondii seroprevalence reported to date in wild boar worldwide. The increase in prevalence with increasing age (p = 0.003) and weight (p = 0.002) were statistically significant, whereas gender was not (p = 0.781). Odds for being T. gondii-positive increased with age with the largest difference being between 2–3-year-old and 1–2-year-old animals (OR = 2.66, 95%CI: 1.03–6.85). Animals weighing 20–40 kg had a higher risk than animals weighing 0–20 kg (OR = 2.74, 95%CI: 1.21–6.20), whereas a further increase in the weight was not associated with increasing the odds. Due to the high Toxoplasma prevalence, the study concluded that the risk of exposure to T. gondii from handling raw or undercooked wild boar meat is high. Surveillance protocols should be established at the national level together with increased awareness within the hunting community.

Toxoplasma gondii Investigation of Home-Reared Pigs through Real-Time PCR and Digital Droplet PCR: A Very Low Prevalence

“…Indeed, several studies showed that age is a relevant risk factor affecting seroprevalences in pigs, due to the typical postnatal infection that occurs in this species [14]. This difference was also reported in wild boars, where it was shown that being T. gondiipositive increases with age, with a 2.66-fold higher risk in 2-3-year-old pigs compared to that of 1-2-year-old pigs [15]. Thus, our results are likely to suggest that the farming conditions of the private pig farming described herein, such as the low number of animals, housing in separate boxes and limited rearing period, could mitigate parasite circulation in pigs.…”

Revealing the Prevalence of Toxoplasma in Sierra Morena’s Wild Boar: An ELISA-Based Study Using Meat Juice

“…At a European level, the prevalence of Toxoplasma in wild boar varies depending on the region and the technique, ranging from 5.2% in Greece [ 53 ] to 62% in Slovenia [ 35 ]. The lack of a perfect technique (with 100% specificity and 100% sensitivity) for the detection of T. gondii is well-known [ 54 ].…”

“…The prevalence of Toxoplasma infection in wild boar is influenced by factors such as the age and sex of the animals as well as the season and weather conditions [ 29 , 30 ]. Prevalence varies in different European countries: 40% (range 32–59%) in the Czech Republic [ 31 ]; 48% in Poland [ 32 ]; 29% (range 5–45%) in Sweden [ 33 ]; 16.8% in France [ 34 ]; 62% in Slovenia [ 35 ]; 35% in Switzerland [ 36 ]; and 15.5% in Italy [ 37 ]. In Spain, prevalence also varies between different areas: 14.1% in the Valencian Community [ 30 ]; 39% in Doñana National Park [ 29 ]; 19.4% in Andalusia [ 38 ]; 23.88% in the Extremadura Region and 20.8% in the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura, and Las Villas Natural Park [ 39 ]; and 51.16% in Sierra Morena [ 40 ].…”

Use molecular technique to detect toxoplasmosis in placenta and aborted fetus in women in Al-Diwaniyah province

“…It is distributed all around the world (Woyesa et al,2021), Toxoplasma gondii has been isolated from a variety of geographical regions (Yang et al,2021). According to estimates, this parasite threatens one-third of the world's population (Bandelj et al,2021). The parasite which is common in both humans and animals, causes the disease depending on where they reside, 15 to 85 percent of the human population is asymptomatically infected (Mose et al,2020).…”