Seroprevalence and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection among goats in Algeria

Ikram Chettih; Lynda Abdellaoui; Meriem Mekroud; Ali Dahmani; Mustapha Nabi; Karima Hadj Omar; Nadjet Amina Khelifi Touhami; Hichem Dahmani; Lyes Bouasla; Imane Ouchetati; Redha Belala; Nassim Ouchene

doi:10.1016/j.cimid.2024.102201

Seroprevalence and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection among goats in Algeria

Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis. 2024 May 22:110:102201. doi: 10.1016/j.cimid.2024.102201. Online ahead of print.

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Veterinary Sciences, Sâad Dahlab University of Blida 1, Street Soumâa, BP 270, Blida 09000, Algeria; Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Materials Interfaces Applied to the Environment, Sâad Dahlab University of Blida 1, Street Soumâa, BP 270, Blida 09000, Algeria.
² Institute of Veterinary Sciences, Sâad Dahlab University of Blida 1, Street Soumâa, BP 270, Blida 09000, Algeria.
³ PADESCA Laboratory Research, Institute of Veterinary Sciences of El Khroub (ISVK), Mentouri Brothers University of Constantine 1, Constantine 25000, Algeria.
⁴ Normal High School of Technological Teaching, Skikda University, Skikda 21000, Algeria.
⁵ Institute of Veterinary Sciences, Sâad Dahlab University of Blida 1, Street Soumâa, BP 270, Blida 09000, Algeria; Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Materials Interfaces Applied to the Environment, Sâad Dahlab University of Blida 1, Street Soumâa, BP 270, Blida 09000, Algeria. Electronic address: ouchenenaa@gmail.com.

PMID: 38810337
DOI: 10.1016/j.cimid.2024.102201

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is one of the most common zoonotic parasitic diseases worldwide and is caused by Toxoplasma gondii. It is implicated in reproductive disorders in small ruminants. This study aims to determine, for the first time in Algeria, the seroprevalence and associated factors of T. gondii infection in goats. The study was conducted in four regions, Ghardaia, Laghouat and Djelfa, southern Algeria, and Jijel region, northern Algeria. A total of 92 blood samples were collected including 74 females and 18 males. All sera were tested using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect the T. gondii antibodies. The presence of anti-T. gondii antibodies was detected in 35 out of 92 goats (38.04%) (95% CI: 31.64%-44.44%) and in all flocks (100%). Risk factors that have a significant influence on the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection are breed, regions, production system, presence of cats, clinics and abortion history. However, variables such as age and gender were note significantly associated with toxoplasma infection in goats. The highest seroprevalences of infection was observed in saanen (52.94%) (p<0.001) and cross-breed race (44%) (p<0.01) in comparison with other breeds. Regarding regions, Jijel and Laghouat were most infected with seroprevalences of 50% (p<0.001) and 40.91% (p<0.01), respectively. Animals in intensive production systems were most infected, showing a seroprevalence of 51.85%, in comparison with extensive (28.13%) and semi-intensive systems (36.36%) (p<0.001). The presence of cats in farms was significantly associated with high seroprevalence (44.64%) (p<0.001). The infection was more prevalent in previously aborted females (50%) than females that had never aborted (3.35%) (p<0.001)and animals that have diarrhoea or poor health (41.67%) were significantly more infected than healthy animals (37.50%) (p<0.01). Seroprevalence in males (38.89%) was very close to those in females (37.84%) (p>0.05). Age-related seroprevalence did not vary significantly (ranged from 36.37% to 40%) between the three age classes. These results indicate that goat toxoplasmosis is widespread in Algeria, and goats may represent a high risk of contamination for humans. This requires more attention during consumption of goat meat.

Keywords: Goats; Risk factors; Seroprevalence; Toxoplasmosis.