Public health and economic importance of Toxoplasma gondii infections in goats: The last decade

Dubey, J. P.; Murata, Fernando Henrique Antunes; Cerqueira‐Cézar, Camila K.; Kwok, O. C. H.

doi:10.1016/j.rvsc.2020.06.014

Cited by 46 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 153 publications

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“…Toxoplasmosis is widespread and its seroprevalence in livestock vary widely, reaching high values in sheep (98.9%), goats (95.2%), cattle (93.5%) and pigs (96.6%) reviewed in [1,[23][24][25]. The seroprevalence rates, at individual and farm level, in livestock reported here are in line with the results from different studies conducted in other Italian regions [13,15,16,26].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…On the other hand, a strong association was found between the variable abortion and the seropositivity to T. gondii in goat and in water buffalo farms. The abortive role of Toxoplasma in small ruminants is widely recognized [23,24] whereas it is not common in cattle [34] and water buffaloes [35]. Recently, Ciuca et al [18] showed that the co-infection by Neospora caninum and T. gondii is significantly associated with abortion in a water buffalo farm located in the same area.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Towards an Integrated Approach for Monitoring Toxoplasmosis in Southern Italy

Pepe

Bosco

Capuano

et al. 2021

Animals

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Toxoplasmosis is a widespread worldwide zoonotic infection caused by the intracellular protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. This protozoan infection is considered one of the most important food-borne parasitic zoonoses globally. Beyond its impact on public health, toxoplasmosis has also important veterinary implications, because it causes miscarriage or congenital malformations in livestock with negative economic impacts. An integrated monitoring programme aimed to deepen the epidemiological data on toxoplasmosis and to identify the risk factors that may favour T. gondii infections in animals and humans was conducted in an endemic area of southern Italy. The monitoring activities were based on the following tasks: (i) parasitological analysis and risk factors for T. gondii in livestock (sheep, goat, cattle and water buffalo) farms; (ii) serological and molecular monitoring at slaughterhouse in meat-producing livestock; (iii) analysis of hospital discharge records (HDRs); (iv) outreach activities (information, dissemination and health education) to farmers, vet practitioners and school-age children. The present study confirmed a very high seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in livestock farms (e.g., up to 93.1% in sheep farms) in southern Italy and highlighted the potentially significant public health risk in this area.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards an Integrated Approach for Monitoring Toxoplasmosis in Southern Italy

Pepe

Bosco

Capuano

et al. 2021

Animals

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“…Toxoplasmosis is considered a major cause of reproductive losses in sheep and goats worldwide (22,30). Infection during pregnancy usually results in fetal death (early-gestation); stillborn or the birth of a weak lamb, sometimes accompanied by a small, mummified fetus (mid-gestation); or the birth of healthy lambs, but congenitally infected (late-gestation) (31).…”

Section: Neospora Caninum and Toxoplasma Gondii As Relevant Causes Of Reproductive Failure In Domestic Ruminantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the Ruminant Placenta-Pathogen Interactions in Apicomplexan Parasites: Current and Future Perspectives

et al. 2021

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Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii are one of the main concerns of the livestock sector as they cause important economic losses in ruminants due to the reproductive failure. It is well-known that the interaction of these parasites with the placenta determines the course of infection, leading to fetal death or parasite transmission to the offspring. However, to advance the development of effective vaccines and treatments, there are still important gaps on knowledge on the placental host-parasite interactions that need to be addressed. Ruminant animal models are still an indispensable tool for providing a global view of the pathogenesis, lesions, and immune responses, but their utilization embraces important economic and ethics restrictions. Alternative in vitro systems based on caruncular and trophoblast cells, the key cellular components of placentomes, have emerged in the last years, but their use can only offer a partial view of the processes triggered after infection as they cannot mimic the complex placental architecture and neglect the activity of resident immune cells. These drawbacks could be solved using placental explants, broadly employed in human medicine, and able to preserve its cellular architecture and function. Despite the availability of such materials is constrained by their short shelf-life, the development of adequate cryopreservation protocols could expand their use for research purposes. Herein, we review and discuss existing (and potential) in vivo, in vitro, and ex vivo ruminant placental models that have proven useful to unravel the pathogenic mechanisms and the host immune responses responsible for fetal death (or protection) caused by neosporosis and toxoplasmosis.

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“…The latter is a possible route for transmission to goats when the mother is infected during the gestational period (Dubey 2021). According to Dubey et al (2020), reproductive losses in goats are much more serious than in sheep. In addition, goats can transmit toxoplasmosis to humans (Orlando et al 2017), such that this disease can become a global anthropozoonosis, with great importance with regard to public health, due to the high risk that the disease poses for immunocompromised people (Belluco et al 2016;Wang et al 2017;Dubey et al 2020).…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Raising goats for meat, leather and milk production is an important global economic activity (Dubey 2020). Thus, diseases that cause reproductive problems in goats generate signi cant economic losses for producers and have a negative impact on productivity (Pinheiro et al 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of natural infection by Toxoplasma gondii in goat herds in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil

Sousa

Batista

Silva

et al. 2021

Preprint

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This study aimed to describe the transmission of T. gondii in naturally infected goats in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil, through evaluating the serological status of these animals from one to 12 months of age. Seven goat farms were selected. During the first visit, an epidemiological questionnaire was applied. Blood samples were collected from pregnant goats and from their female offspring every month, to monitor them for anti-T. gondii antibodies, using the indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT). Out of 66 pregnant goats evaluated, 47% (31/66) (95% CI: 34.6% − 59.7%) were positive and out of 93 female offspring, 61.3% (57/93) (95% CI: 52.4% − 69.2%) were positive, in at least one month during the evaluation period. Among the positive female offspring, 43.3% (27/57) (95% CI: 39.7% − 56.9%) presented environmental infection and 56.7% (30/57) (95% CI: 43.4% − 66.3 %) probably had only colostral antibodies or vertical transmission. It was observed that 92,6% (25/27) from environmental infections occurred until reproductive age (six months) (p < 0.0001). It was also noted that there is a correlation between the titration of mothers and offspring, until four months of age (p < 0.0001). Large fluctuations in the presence of antibodies were observed among the animals over the months monitored. It can be concluded that the prevalence of anti-T. gondii antibodies within the herds was greater than what has been expressed in specific prevalence studies and that most sheep become infected up to the six months of life in the studied area.

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Public health and economic importance of Toxoplasma gondii infections in goats: The last decade

Cited by 46 publications

References 153 publications

Towards an Integrated Approach for Monitoring Toxoplasmosis in Southern Italy

Towards an Integrated Approach for Monitoring Toxoplasmosis in Southern Italy

Modeling the Ruminant Placenta-Pathogen Interactions in Apicomplexan Parasites: Current and Future Perspectives

Dynamics of natural infection by Toxoplasma gondii in goat herds in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil

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