Molecular detection of Toxoplasma gondii in the slaughter sheep and goats from North India

•This is the first North Indian study molecularly confirming T. gondii in 1.69% and 1.35% of the slaughter sheep and goat, respectively.•The level of infection in slaughter sheep and goat indicates that T. gondii is a low food safety risk in North India.•Further studies are required to characterize...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Veterinary parasitology 2017-07, Vol.241, p.35-38
Main Authors: Kalambhe, Deepali, Gill, J.P.S., Singh, Balbir Bagicha
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
B1gene
DNA, Protozoan - genetics
Goat
Goat Diseases - parasitology
Goats
India
India - epidemiology
Nested PCR
Phylogeny
Sheep
Sheep Diseases - diagnosis
Sheep Diseases - parasitology
T. gondii
Toxoplasma - genetics
Toxoplasmosis, Animal - diagnosis
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:•This is the first North Indian study molecularly confirming T. gondii in 1.69% and 1.35% of the slaughter sheep and goat, respectively.•The level of infection in slaughter sheep and goat indicates that T. gondii is a low food safety risk in North India.•Further studies are required to characterize clonal lineages of T. gondii circulating in sheep and goat populations in North India. Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that infects almost all the warm blooded animals, including human beings. The disease usually remains asymptomatic but is a serious concern for pregnant women, developing foetus and immuno-compromised individuals. We collected 400 cardiac/skeletal muscle tissue samples from slaughter sheep (177) and goat (223) intended for human consumption from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh states/union territory in North India. The samples were pepsin-HCl digested and DNA was extracted from all the digested samples. Nested-PCR was carried out to amplify 580bp and 531bp bands with external and internal sets of primers specific for B1 gene of T. gondii. Molecularly, six (1.5%) isolates of T. gondii were detected. In PCR, T. gondii DNA were detected from 1.69% and 1.34% of the sheep and goat samples, respectively. Three PCR amplified products were sequenced in both the directions and readable sequences were obtained. Due to a low level of polymorphism in the targeted B1 gene, the clonal lineages of different isolates could not be determined. The results indicate that T. gondii in slaughter sheep and goat presents a low food safety risk for public health in North India.
ISSN:0304-4017
1873-2550
DOI:10.1016/j.vetpar.2017.05.009