Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jul 10;6(3):63.
doi: 10.3390/vetsci6030063.

Cross-Sectional Survey on Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Cattle, Sheep, and Goats in Algeria: Seroprevalence and Risk Factors

Mohamed-Cherif Abdallah  1 , Miroud Kamel  2 , Benfodil Karima  1 , Ansel Samir  1 , Khelef Djamel  1 , Kaidi Rachid  3 , Ait-Oudhia Khatima  4
Affiliations

Cross-Sectional Survey on Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Cattle, Sheep, and Goats in Algeria: Seroprevalence and Risk Factors

Mohamed-Cherif Abdallah et al. Vet Sci. .

Abstract

A cross-sectional study aimed at assessing the seroprevalence and identifying the risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii infection in cattle, sheep, and goats in eight provinces located in two main Algerian agro-ecological zones was carried out from October 2015 to March 2018. Blood sera from 4074 animals of both sexes were tested for the presence of anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies, using the indirect, enzyme-linked, immunosorbent assay technique (ELISA). Moreover, to identify the potential risk factors of T. gondii infection, a survey through a breeders' questionnaires was conducted. Nearly one-fourth of the total number of animals tested (1024/4074)-i.e., 25.1%--were seropositive. The seroprevalence in cattle, sheep, and goats was 28.7%, 25.6%, and 11.9%, respectively. The area, sex, age, and herd size were identified as risk factors for T. gondii infection. Higher seropositivity rates were recorded in cows and goats (odds ratio (OR) = 1.63 and 6.4), in old animals (cattle, OR = 2.1; sheep, OR = 1.9; and goat, OR = 3.9), and in small size herds (cattle, OR = 2.5; sheep, OR = 1.9; goat, OR = 2.2). In conclusion, there is widespread T. gondii infection in cattle, sheep, and goats in these two strategic agricultural areas. The identification of the risk factors determines the type of measures and strategies to be undertaken to reduce, control, and prevent T. gondii infection in domestic animals, and thereby reduce human infection.

Keywords: Algeria; T. gondii; cattle; elisa; goat; seroprevalence; sheep.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

We declare that we have no conflicts of interest related to this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of cattle seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in Algeria.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of the sheep seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in Algeria.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of goat seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in Algeria.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tenter A.M. Toxoplasma gondii in animals used for human consumption. Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz. 2009;104:364–369. doi: 10.1590/S0074-02762009000200033. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dubey J.P. Toxoplasmosis of Animals and Humans. [(accessed on 22 May 2019)]; Available online: https://www.crcpress.com/Toxoplasmosis-of-Animals-and-Humans/Dubey/p/boo....
    1. Tenter A.M., Heckeroth A.R., Weiss L.M. Toxoplasma gondii: From animals to humans. Int. J. Parasitol. 2000;30:1217–1258. doi: 10.1016/S0020-7519(00)00124-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dubey J.P. Toxoplasmosis in sheep—The last 20 years. Vet. Parasitol. 2009;163:1–14. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2009.02.026. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hill D., Dubey J.P. Toxoplasma gondii: Transmission, diagnosis and prevention. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. 2002;8:634–640. doi: 10.1046/j.1469-0691.2002.00485.x. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources