Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and the associated risk factors in sheep and pregnant women in El-Minya Governorate, Egypt
Background and Aim: The cosmopolite protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii, has a significant economic and medical impact. Cats traditionally play a predominant role in the disease maintenance cycle; however, humans can be infected as a result of milk and meat consumption of Toxoplasma-infected livestock. In...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Veterinary World
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Veterinary World |
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| Online Access: | http://www.veterinaryworld.org/Vol.13/January-2020/8.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818655502612037632 |
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| author | Abdelbaset E. Abdelbaset Maha I. Hamed Mostafa F. N. Abushahba Mohamed S. Rawy Amal S. M. Sayed Jeffrey J. Adamovicz |
| author_facet | Abdelbaset E. Abdelbaset Maha I. Hamed Mostafa F. N. Abushahba Mohamed S. Rawy Amal S. M. Sayed Jeffrey J. Adamovicz |
| author_sort | Abdelbaset E. Abdelbaset |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background and Aim: The cosmopolite protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii, has a significant economic and medical impact. Cats traditionally play a predominant role in the disease maintenance cycle; however, humans can be infected as a result of milk and meat consumption of Toxoplasma-infected livestock. In addition, infected pregnant women, even symptomless, can pass the disease to their unborn fetus. The limited clinical records and absence of specific national educational programs in countries like Egypt underscore the need for periodic toxoplasmosis disease evaluation. Here, we identified T. gondii seroprevalence among sheep and pregnant women and the associated risk factors in El-Minya Governorate, Egypt.
Materials and Methods: Using peripheral blood, we detected T. gondii-specific antibodies in 151 sheep and 96 pregnant women sera from El-Minya Governorate using latex agglutination and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The impact of different environmental and behavioral risk factors identified with in-person interviews and serology results on acquiring toxoplasmosis was statistically analyzed.
Results: The overall toxoplasmosis seroprevalence was 39.1% and 22.9% in sheep and pregnant women, respectively. Significantly higher seroprevalence was correlated with increasing sheep age and geographical location. Nonetheless, no statistical significance was found based on abortion history and pregnancy status of the examined sheep. Exposure factors important for pregnant women included pregnancy trimester, contact with cats, and the habit of eating undercooked sheep meat, which all had a statistically significant association with Toxoplasma seropositivity.
Conclusion: The current study confirms increased antibodies against toxoplasmosis in both sheep and pregnant women in El-Minya Governorate and a clear association between women's age, contact with cats, and the habit of eating undercooked sheep meat and seroreactivity to T. gondii. These results strongly suggest the need for a more comprehensive epidemiological study and public health awareness education for toxoplasmosis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T03:10:43Z |
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| id | doaj.art-cc38aac76e3a445bb74f67813eaf4d2a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0972-8988 2231-0916 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T03:10:43Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Veterinary World |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Veterinary World |
| spelling | doaj.art-cc38aac76e3a445bb74f67813eaf4d2a2022-12-21T22:05:52ZengVeterinary WorldVeterinary World0972-89882231-09162020-01-01131546010.14202/vetworld.2020.54-60Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and the associated risk factors in sheep and pregnant women in El-Minya Governorate, EgyptAbdelbaset E. Abdelbaset0Maha I. Hamed1Mostafa F. N. Abushahba2Mohamed S. Rawy3Amal S. M. Sayed4Jeffrey J. Adamovicz5Department of Animal Medicine (Clinical Laboratory Diagnosis), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, 71526-Assiut, Egypt.Department of Animal Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, 71526 Assiut, Egypt.Department of Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, 71526 Assiut, Egypt; Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211-5130, USA.Department of Theriogenology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Minia University, El-Minya, Egypt.Department of Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, 71526 Assiut, Egypt.Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211-5130, USA.Background and Aim: The cosmopolite protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii, has a significant economic and medical impact. Cats traditionally play a predominant role in the disease maintenance cycle; however, humans can be infected as a result of milk and meat consumption of Toxoplasma-infected livestock. In addition, infected pregnant women, even symptomless, can pass the disease to their unborn fetus. The limited clinical records and absence of specific national educational programs in countries like Egypt underscore the need for periodic toxoplasmosis disease evaluation. Here, we identified T. gondii seroprevalence among sheep and pregnant women and the associated risk factors in El-Minya Governorate, Egypt. Materials and Methods: Using peripheral blood, we detected T. gondii-specific antibodies in 151 sheep and 96 pregnant women sera from El-Minya Governorate using latex agglutination and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The impact of different environmental and behavioral risk factors identified with in-person interviews and serology results on acquiring toxoplasmosis was statistically analyzed. Results: The overall toxoplasmosis seroprevalence was 39.1% and 22.9% in sheep and pregnant women, respectively. Significantly higher seroprevalence was correlated with increasing sheep age and geographical location. Nonetheless, no statistical significance was found based on abortion history and pregnancy status of the examined sheep. Exposure factors important for pregnant women included pregnancy trimester, contact with cats, and the habit of eating undercooked sheep meat, which all had a statistically significant association with Toxoplasma seropositivity. Conclusion: The current study confirms increased antibodies against toxoplasmosis in both sheep and pregnant women in El-Minya Governorate and a clear association between women's age, contact with cats, and the habit of eating undercooked sheep meat and seroreactivity to T. gondii. These results strongly suggest the need for a more comprehensive epidemiological study and public health awareness education for toxoplasmosis.http://www.veterinaryworld.org/Vol.13/January-2020/8.pdfabortionegyptrisk factorssheeptoxoplasmosiszoonoses |
| spellingShingle | Abdelbaset E. Abdelbaset Maha I. Hamed Mostafa F. N. Abushahba Mohamed S. Rawy Amal S. M. Sayed Jeffrey J. Adamovicz Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and the associated risk factors in sheep and pregnant women in El-Minya Governorate, Egypt Veterinary World abortion egypt risk factors sheep toxoplasmosis zoonoses |
| title | Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and the associated risk factors in sheep and pregnant women in El-Minya Governorate, Egypt |
| title_full | Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and the associated risk factors in sheep and pregnant women in El-Minya Governorate, Egypt |
| title_fullStr | Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and the associated risk factors in sheep and pregnant women in El-Minya Governorate, Egypt |
| title_full_unstemmed | Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and the associated risk factors in sheep and pregnant women in El-Minya Governorate, Egypt |
| title_short | Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and the associated risk factors in sheep and pregnant women in El-Minya Governorate, Egypt |
| title_sort | toxoplasma gondii seropositivity and the associated risk factors in sheep and pregnant women in el minya governorate egypt |
| topic | abortion egypt risk factors sheep toxoplasmosis zoonoses |
| url | http://www.veterinaryworld.org/Vol.13/January-2020/8.pdf |
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