Toxoplasma gondii in African Wildlife: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a protozoan parasite, which infects a wide variety of mammals and bird species globally. In large parts of the world, this parasite is relatively well documented in wildlife species, however, this topic is poorly documented in Africa. The current review systematically explores the presence and distribution of T. gondii in African wildlife species through a key word search in PubMed, Web of Science and CAB Direct. A total of 66 records were identified and included in the qualitative analysis, of which 19 records were retained for the quantitative synthesis. The presence of T. gondii was reported in a wide range of wildlife species, found in twelve countries, spread over the African continent. The retained records report a prevalence range of 6–100% in herbivores, 8–100% in omnivores and 14–100% in carnivores. In wild felines (cheetahs, leopards, and lions) a prevalence range of 33–100% was found. Reports from South Africa, and on the presence of T. gondii in lion were most common. Overall, the results indicate the scarcity of information on T. gondii in Africa and its circulation in wildlife. The lack of knowledge on the parasite in Africa, especially in areas at the human-livestock-wildlife interface, prevents us from understanding how prevalent it is on the continent, what strains are circulating in wildlife and what the most common routes of transmission are in the different habitats in Africa.

Molecular Survey of Toxoplasma gondii in Wild Mammals of Southern Italy

“…Toxoplasma gondii (Conoidasida, Sarcocystidae) is an apicomplexan protozoan that causes a zoonotic infection known as toxoplasmosis. This parasite is one of the most resilient and persistent living parasites, able to infect many endothermic vertebrates including humans [ 1 ]. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) identified toxoplasmosis among the 10 most important foodborne diseases [ 2 ].…”

First detection of Toxoplasma gondii Africa 4 lineage in a population of carnivores from South Africa

“…Previous investigations of T. gondii in carnivores in South Africa and neighboring countries have focused mainly on the detection of antibodies specific to T. gondii ( Bokaba et al., 2022 ; Omonijo et al., 2022 ). These studies have shown a significant circulation of the parasite in both wild and domestic environments, with expectedly a higher prevalence in carnivores than in herbivores ( Bokaba et al., 2022 ). However, qPCR-based results are particularly valuable in wildlife studies, as validated serological tests are often not available for the host species under study.…”