An investigation into Toxoplasma gondii at the human-livestock-wildlife interface, South Africa.

Abstract

Interface areas shared by humans, domestic and wild animals may serve as high transmission contexts forToxoplasma gondii.However, knowledge about the epidemiology ofT. gondiiin such areas is currently limited. The present study assessed the seroprevalence ofT. gondiiin different hosts from Mpumalanga, South Africa. Furthermore, we investigated the local knowledge and related practices aboutT. gondiiby conducting a questionnaire study in the community. Blood samples were obtained and analysed forT. gondiiantibodies using a commercial multispecies latex agglutination kit. The seroprevalence detected in humans (n= 160; patients showing signs of acute febrile illness), cats (n= 9), chickens (n= 336) and goats (n= 358) was 8.8%, 0.0%, 4.2% and 11.2%, respectively. Seroprevalence in impalas (n= 97), kudus (n= 55), wild dogs (n= 54), wildebeests (n= 43), warthogs (n= 97) and zebras (n= 68) was calculated at 5.2%, 7.3%, 100.0%, 20.9%, 13.4% and 9.1%, respectively. The questionnaire revealed that 63.0% of household owners were subsistence farmers, and 35.9% were pet owners. A high level of female participation was found (75.3%) when compared to male participation (24.7%). The results show a low circulation ofT. gondiiin the domestic cycle and suggest the presence of possible bridges between the wildlife cycle and the surrounding domestic cycle.Contribution:The study contributes to identifying transmission patterns and risk factors ofT. gondiiwithin human and animal populations. This topic fits within the scope of the journal presenting original research in veterinary science, with the focus on wild and domestic populations on the African continent on a topic of universal importance.