Toxoplasma gondii in livestock in St. Kitts and Nevis, West Indies. Issue 1 (December 2015) - Hamilton, Clare
Abstract Background Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous protozoan parasite capable of infecting all warm-blooded animals including livestock. In these animals, the parasite forms cysts in the tissues which may pose a risk to public health if infected meat is consumed undercooked or raw. The aim of this study was to determine the exposure of livestock toT. gondii in St. Kitts and Nevis. Methods Sera and/or heart tissue and meat juice were collected from pigs (n = 124), sheep (n = 116) and goats (n = 66) at the St. Kitts Abattoir. Sera and meat juice were screened for reactive antibodies toT. gondii using an in-house ELISA. Heart tissue was screened forT. gondii DNA using quantitative PCR and positive samples were genotyped using RFLP. Results Antibodies toT. gondii were detected in sera from 48% of pigs, 26% of sheep and 34% of goats tested. Antibodies were also detected in the meat juice from 55% of pig hearts, 22% of sheep hearts and 31% of goat hearts tested. There was a significant positive correlation between serology and meat juice results.T. gondii DNA was detected in heart tissue of 21% of pigs, 16% of sheep and 23% of goats tested. Preliminary PCR-RFLP analysis identified a predominance of the Type III genotype ofT. gondii . Conclusions These results suggest widespread environmental contamination withT. gondii oocysts and that livestock could be a potentially important source ofT. gondii infection if their infected meat is consumed (or handled) undercooked.