Seroprevalence and factors associated with Toxoplasma gondii-, Neospora caninum- and Coxiella burnetii-infections in dairy goat flocks from Costa Rica

Abstract

A total of 391 goats from 13 dairy flocks from all Costa Rican regions were analyzed for Toxoplasma gondii-, Neospora caninum-and Coxiella burnetii-related seroprevalence by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Additionally, a risk factor analysis for these parasitic infections was performed based on a questionnaire considering several environmental and housing/management factors. A total of 62.1% (243/391) of individual serum samples revealed seropositive for T. gondii, 7.9% (31/391) for N. caninum, and 1.8% (7/391) for C. burnetii. At herd level, the overall seroprevalence for T. gondii was 100%, for N. caninum 69.2% and for C. burnetii 7.7%. However, no clinical signs related to toxoplasmosis, neosporosis or Q fever were apparent in these flocks. T. gondii-related risk factors were the contact with cats (OR = 3.44; CI 95%; 2.0-5.91), dogs (OR = 5.75; CI 95%; 2.84-11.66), and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) (OR = 0.15; CI 95%; 0.08-0.26) within or around the farms. The presence of reproductive males in each flock (OR = 0.32; CI 95%; 0.14-0.74) and the coexistence of sheep (OR = 0.46; CI 95%; 0.2-1.08) and cattle (OR = 5.94; CI 95%; 1.70-20.78) revealed as protective and risk factors respectively for N. caninum infections. This study determined for the first time the seroprevalences of N. caninum, T. gondii and C. burnetii in Costa Rican goat flocks. Particularly, the high withinherd seroprevalences determined for T. gondii requires further surveillance to complement these findings.

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum infections and associated factors in sheep from Costa Rica

“…The multivariate logistic regression model established that parasitoses caused by these apicomplexan agents were mainly influenced by the presence of bovines; despite this, Toxoplasma gondii infections are scarcely present in cattle; so bovine as a risk factor of ovine toxoplasmosis in Costa Rica can be explained through the ruminant sharing grazing system (Liu et al, 2015; Gazzonis et al, 2016; Villagra-Blanco et al, 2018) and the elevated contamination of the environment with T. gondii oocysts in mixed bovine/ovine flocks, especially under tropical conditions with continuous climate variations (Caballero-Ortega et al, 2008) and particularly considering that the oocyst transmission and its presence in raw meat from cattle and swine have been reported as the most important infection pathway of this parasite in Costa Rica (Arias et al, 1994, Arias et al, 1996). Moreover, other alternative routes might explain this relationship, e.g.…”

“…Toxoplasmosis and neosporosis are both cosmopolitan diseases: seroprevalences in sheep flocks from different global areas have been reported using different diagnostic methods in numerous investigations during the last decade (Bártová et al, 2009; Rossi et al, 2011; Moreno et al, 2012; Liu et al, 2015). In Costa Rica, seroprevalences of T. gondii have been reported in cattle (34.4%; Arias et al, 1994), dairy goats (62.1%; Villagra-Blanco et al, 2018) and even humans (76%; Arias et al, 1996). In the same way, the presence and seroprevalences of N. caninum have been described in Costa Rican goats (6.1% - 7.9%; Dubey et al, 1996; Villagra-Blanco et al, 2018), dairy cattle (43.3%; Romero-Zúñiga et al, 2005) and dogs (48.4%; Palavicini et al, 2007).…”

“…In Costa Rica, seroprevalences of T. gondii have been reported in cattle (34.4%; Arias et al, 1994), dairy goats (62.1%; Villagra-Blanco et al, 2018) and even humans (76%; Arias et al, 1996). In the same way, the presence and seroprevalences of N. caninum have been described in Costa Rican goats (6.1% - 7.9%; Dubey et al, 1996; Villagra-Blanco et al, 2018), dairy cattle (43.3%; Romero-Zúñiga et al, 2005) and dogs (48.4%; Palavicini et al, 2007).…”

“…In Costa Rica, factors related to neosporosis in dairy cattle included age, breed, parity of the dam and the lack of purposive sampling to diagnose abortive infectious disease (Romero et al, 2002). Moreover, the contact of goats with dogs, cats, and even wild animals has been recently reported as variables associated with toxoplasmosis or neosporosis in Costa Rican caprine flocks (Villagra-Blanco et al, 2018).…”

Alimentos de origen animal y Enfermedades de Transmisión Alimentaria en Costa Rica: 2015- 2020

“…No se reporta la presencia del microorganismo en matrices alimentarias de origen animal. Sin embargo, en el caso de Costa Rica, se reporta una prevalencia superior al 7% para este organismo, en hatos caprinos lecheros (Villagra- Blanco et al, 2018).…”