Seroprevalence and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection in slaughtered chickens in Tripoli, Lebanon.

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is a cosmopolitan protozoan parasite that has a wide range of intermediate hosts. It infects all warm-blooded animals, including humans and birds. The latter typically pick up the infection by ground feeding, and people can contract the parasite from eating undercooked chicken meat. In recent years, investigations into T. gondii infection in poultry have been reported worldwide. However, there is no epidemiological data regarding the seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii antibodies in chicken in Lebanon. Thus, the current investigation was carried out to determine the seroprevalence and associated risk factors of T. gondii infection in chicken destined for human consumption in the Tripoli district of Lebanon. For this, a cross-sectional study was carried out between April 2021 and February 2022. Blood samples were collected from 400 chickens in four poultry abattoirs in Tripoli. The modified agglutination test (MAT) was used to test sera for T. gondii antibodies. The association of T. gondii seroprevalence with potential risk factors was assessed using the Chi-square test. Multivariate analysis was used to confirm the association. The seroprevalence of T. gondii antibodies reported in this study was 13% (52/400); it was higher in the free-range chicken group (19.3%, 29/150) than in the caged group (9.2%, 23/250) (OR=2.365; 95% CI: 1.311-4.267) (P=0.004). The wet season and the presence of cats in the poultry farms were significantly associated with an increased seropositivity to T. gondii infection (P≤0.0001). Given the occurrence of T. gondii antibodies in slaughtered chicken in this area, the consumption of raw or undercooked chicken meats may pose a serious threat to public health and highlight the need to implement appropriate precautionary strategies to halt the spread of T. gondii to humans.