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. 2019 Nov 4;9(11):916.
doi: 10.3390/ani9110916.

Spatial Analysis of Infections by Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum (Protozoa: Apicomplexa) in Small Ruminants in Northern Italy

Alessia Gazzonis  1 , Luca Villa  2 , MariaTeresa Manfredi  3 , Sergio Zanzani  4
Affiliations

Spatial Analysis of Infections by Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum (Protozoa: Apicomplexa) in Small Ruminants in Northern Italy

Alessia Gazzonis et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

The objectives of this study were: (i) To investigate possible geographical or environmental factors influencing the infections by Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in sheep and goats in northern Italy; (ii) to identify areas at risk of infection to set up preventive measures. Forty-three sheep and goat farms were included. Their locations were plotted and associated with T. gondii and N. caninum seroprevalence, then the distribution of farms' prevalence was evaluated by spatial analysis. Significant clusters for both low and high prevalence were obtained, and a generalized linear model with ordinal logistic regression was implemented to verify if spatial clustering could be due to climate factors (temperature, rainfall, and their interaction). Clusters of high (80.0%) and low prevalence (28.12%) resulted for T. gondii seroprevalence in sheep farms. No significant clusters resulted for goat farms. Clusters of high (38.68%) and low prevalence (21.23%) resulted for N. caninum seroprevalence in sheep farms. One high-prevalence cluster (15.62%) resulted for goat farms. For goats, spatial analysis and analysis on climatic data showed the absence of environmental significant risk factors associated with T. gondii or N. caninum infection. On the contrary, for sheep, annual temperature, rainfall, and their association affected the risk of T. gondii and N. caninum infection. Particularly, high temperatures and abundant rainfalls were related to T. gondii seroprevalence, while low temperatures and scarce rainfalls were related to N. caninum seroprevalence.

Keywords: Apicomplexa; Italy; Neospora caninum; Toxoplasma gondii; goat; parasites; protozoa; sheep; spatial analysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Spatial distribution of surveyed small ruminant farms in the study area according to temperature (upper) and rainfall maps (lower).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Geographical allocation of significant clusters of Toxoplasma gondii infections in sheep farms in northern Italy. Red represents the cluster of high prevalence of infection, blue represents the cluster of low prevalence of infection, and green represents the studied area (Varese, Milano, and Bergamo provinces).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Geographical allocation of significant clusters of Neospora caninum infections in sheep farms in northern Italy. Red represents the cluster of high prevalence of infection, blue represents the cluster of low prevalence of infection, and green represents the studied area (Varese, Milano, and Bergamo provinces).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Geographical allocation of the significant cluster (in red) of Neospora caninum high prevalence in goat farms in northern Italy. Green represents the studied area (Varese, Milano, and Bergamo provinces).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Annual mean temperature (a) and annual rainfall (b) in sheep farms sited inside the low T. gondii prevalence cluster, outside clusters, and inside the high T. gondii prevalence cluster.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Annual mean temperature (a) and annual rainfall (b) in sheep farms sited inside the low N. caninum prevalence cluster, outside clusters, and inside the high N. caninum prevalence clusters.
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