Seroprevalence of antibodies of Neospora spp. and Toxoplasma gondii in horses from southern Italy.
Abstract: The consumption of horse meat has been epidemiologically linked to clinical toxoplasmosis in humans and neosporosis that may cause clinical illness in horses. Here we determined seroprevalence of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908 and species of Neospora Dubey, Carpenter, Speer, Topper et Uggla, 1988 in horses from Italy. Blood samples were collected from 643 apparently healthy horses from 60 farms of 51 municipalities in southern Italy. The presence of antibodies against T. gondii and Neospora spp. were detected by indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT); a titre ≥ 50 was considered positive. The same sera were also tested for antibodies against Neospora spp. by a competitive-inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA); samples with ≥ 30% inhibition were considered positive. Antibodies against T. gondii and Neospora spp. were detected in 19 (3.0%) and 15 (2.3%) horses by IFAT, respectively, without statistical difference between gender, age and breeds (p-value ≥ 0.05). Antibodies against species of Neospora were detected in 70 (10.9%) horses by cELISA with statistical difference in gender (6.0-18.5%, p-value ≥ 0.05) and breeds (0-19.4%, p-value ≥ 0.05). Although T. gondii infection rates were low, the risk of human infection should not be dismissed, particularly in Italy where consumption of raw or undercooked horse meat has a long tradition.
Publication Date: 2015-07-06 PubMed ID: 26278845DOI: 10.14411/fp.2015.043Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The study investigates the prevalence of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora Dubey species in horses from Southern Italy and analyzes the potential risks posed to consumers of horse meat.
Methodology and Sample Selection
- The research involved taking blood samples from 643 healthy horses in southern Italy.
- The horses came from 60 different farms spread across 51 municipalities. This breadth was chosen to ensure an extensive view of antibody prevalence across the region.
Detection of Antibodies against T. gondii and Neospora spp.
- To check for the presence of these antibodies, the team used an indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT). This test involves detecting and quantifying the presence of specific antibodies by labeling them with a fluorescent compound.
- A titre, which is a measure of the concentration of the antibodies, of more than or equal to 50 was deemed positive.
Detection of Antibodies against Neospora spp.
- For Neospora spp. specifically, the blood samples were also tested using a competitive-inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA), another method used to detect the presence of certain antibodies in blood samples.
- Findings from this test were considered positive if they showed 30% or more inhibition.
Findings on Seroprevalence
- Through the IFAT analysis, antibodies against T. gondii and Neospora spp. were found in 3.0% and 2.3% of the horses, respectively. These results showed no significant difference in the prevalence of the antibodies based on the gender, age, or breeds of the horses.
- However, via the cELISA analysis, Neospora spp. antibodies were detected in 10.9% of the horses. Interestingly, this came with a statistical difference in relation to the gender and breeds of the horses.
Implications for Public Health
- Even though the percentage of T. gondii infection was low, the research suggests it still presents a risk for humans, especially for those eating raw or undercooked horse meat, which is a cultural practice in Italy.
- It’s worth noting that consumption of infected horse meat has been linked to toxoplasmosis in humans and neosporosis, a disease that can cause clinical illness in horses.
Cite This Article
APA
Bartova E, Machacova T, Sedlak K, Budikova M, Mariani U, Veneziano V.
(2015).
Seroprevalence of antibodies of Neospora spp. and Toxoplasma gondii in horses from southern Italy.
Folia Parasitol (Praha), 62, 2015.043.
https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2015.043 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic;
- Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic;
- Department of Virology and Serology, State Veterinary Institute, Prague, Czech Republic;
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic;
- Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici, Napoli, Italy;
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Productions, University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
Citations
This article has been cited 11 times.- Costa PWL, Oliveira CSM, Bezerra RA, Alvares FBV, Formiga VHAS, Martins MRDD, Feitosa TF, Vilela VLR. Anti-Toxoplasma gondii and Anti-Neospora caninum Antibodies in Urban Traction Equids in Northeast Brazil: Seroprevalence and Risk Factors. Trop Med Infect Dis 2023 Apr 20;8(4).
- Marzok M, Al-Jabr OA, Salem M, Alkashif K, Sayed-Ahmed M, Wakid MH, Kandeel M, Selim A. Seroprevalence and Risk Factors for Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Horses. Vet Sci 2023 Mar 22;10(3).
- Stelzer S, Basso W, Benavides Silván J, Ortega-Mora LM, Maksimov P, Gethmann J, Conraths FJ, Schares G. Toxoplasma gondii infection and toxoplasmosis in farm animals: Risk factors and economic impact. Food Waterborne Parasitol 2019 Jun;15:e00037.
- Ouslimani SF, Tennah S, Azzag N, Derdour SY, China B, Ghalmi F. Seroepidemiological study of the exposure to Toxoplasma gondii among horses in Algeria and analysis of risk factors. Vet World 2019 Dec;12(12):2007-2016.
- Silva RC, Machado GP. Canine neosporosis: perspectives on pathogenesis and management. Vet Med (Auckl) 2016;7:59-70.
- Gutiérrez-Expósito D, García-Bocanegra I, Howe DK, Arenas-Montes A, Yeargan MR, Ness SL, Ortega-Mora LM, Álvarez-García G. A serosurvey of selected cystogenic coccidia in Spanish equids: first detection of anti-Besnoitia spp. specific antibodies in Europe. BMC Vet Res 2017 May 10;13(1):128.
- Klun I, Uzelac A, Villena I, Mercier A, Bobić B, Nikolić A, Rajnpreht I, Opsteegh M, Aubert D, Blaga R, van der Giessen J, Djurković-Djaković O. The first isolation and molecular characterization of Toxoplasma gondii from horses in Serbia. Parasit Vectors 2017 Apr 4;10(1):167.
- Feng Y, Lu Y, Wang Y, Liu J, Zhang L, Yang Y. Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in Free-Range Chickens in Henan Province of China. Biomed Res Int 2016;2016:8290536.
- Jabar Aziz K, Mikaeel FB, Azeez SH, Bilal SJ. Seroepidemiological study of Neospora caninum in equids using c-ELISA in Erbil Province, Iraq. Folia Parasitol 2024 Nov 25;71.
- Shams F, Jokar M, Abdous A, Mohammadi P, Abbassioun A, Seuberlich T, Rahmanian V. Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora spp. in horse population of Tehran, Iran. Sci Rep 2024 Jul 24;14(1):17054.
- Alshammari A, Gattan HS, Marzok M, Selim A. Seroprevalence and risk factors for Neospora spp. infection in equine in Egypt. Sci Rep 2023 Nov 19;13(1):20242.
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