Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most common meat-born zoonoses that infect all warm-blooded animals and humans. Sheep (Ovis aries) is one of the main reservoirs of T. gondii worldwide, and the infections induce various sequels, such as abortion and stillbirth. The present study aimed to identify the effects of humidity on the prevalence of T. gondii in sheep in high- and low-humidity regions. Heart samples from 200 slaughtered sheep (140 samples from a high-humidity region and 60 samples from a low-humidity region) were collected from Hormozgan Province (south of Iran). The samples were tested by nested PCR targeting the RE gene. Genotyping was performed by the PCR-RFLP method using the SAG3 and GRA6 genes. Some isolates were sequenced and recorded in the GenBank. T. gondii DNA was detected in 10.71 percent of the samples from the highly humid region, whereas no positive samples were detected in the low-humidity region. Genotyping revealed that all isolates belonged to the T. gondii type III genotype. Our study indicated that humidity is an important factor for the prevalence of T. gondii in sheep. Additionally, our study also showed the dominance of type III strain of T. gondii in sheep in the south of Iran.
Highlights
Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most common meat-born parasitic infections worldwide
Environmental conditions, people’s social behaviors, and fauna are some of the factors that may determine the level of contamination with Toxoplasma gondii, so the parasite is more prevalent in areas with hot and humid climate than in dry and cold areas [9]. e main routes of transmission of T. gondii are via consumption of raw or semicooked meat of animals such as sheep, pigs, and cattle infected with tissue cysts [3]
Out of 200 heart samples collected and tested by the 529 bp Repetitive Element (RE) gene, 15 samples (7.5%) were positive for toxoplasmosis. ey all were collected from Bandar Abbas and represented 10.71 percent of the corresponding samples, whereas none of those obtained from Hajiabad were positive. e nested PCR performed on the RE-gene-positive samples using GRA6 and SAG3 genes resulted in the production of positive fragments of 344 bp (Figure 1) and of 224 bp (Figure 2), respectively
Summary
Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most common meat-born parasitic infections worldwide. Domestic cats are the final host, and all warm-blooded animals and humans are intermediate hosts of T. gondii. E infection can be occurred by consumption of raw or undercooked meat containing tissue cysts, drinking or eating contaminated water or foods with oocysts (shed in by cat feces), and maternal transmission or rarely blood transfusion or organ transplantation [1,2,3]. E main routes of transmission of T. gondii are via consumption of raw or semicooked meat of animals such as sheep, pigs, and cattle infected with tissue cysts [3]. Toxoplasmosis in Veterinary Medicine International sheep induces various sequels, such as abortion and stillbirth, and, has economic and public health importance [10, 11]
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