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Title:   Author  item
                                            Dubey, Jitenderitem
                                            GAMBLE, H - NATL RES. COUNCILitem
                                            Hill, Doloresitem
                                            SREEKUMAR, C - 1265-40-00item
                                            ROMAND, S - LAB DE TOXOPLASMOSEitem
                                            THULLIEZ, P - LAB DE TOXOPLASMOSE
  Submitted to: Journal of Parasitology
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 12/2/2002
                                    Publication  Date: 12/21/2002
                                    Citation: Dubey, J.P., Gamble, H.R., Hill, D.E., Sreekumar, C., Romand, S., Thulliez, P. 2002. High prevalence of viable toxoplasma gondii infection in market weight pigs from a farm in massachusetts. Journal of Parasitology 88:1234-1238.Interpretive Summary: Infection by the single celled parasite Toxoplasma gondii are widely prevalent in humans and animals.  It causes mental retardation and loss of vision in congenitally-infected children and abortion in livestock.  The ingestion of uncooked infected meat is considered important in the epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in humans, yet little is known of the prevalence of viable T. gondii in meat used for human consumption in the U.S.  In the present study, viable T. gondii was isolated from 51 of 55 market weight pigs intended for human consumption.  These results will be of interest to biologists, public health workers, veterinarians, physicians, and parasitologists.
                                Technical Abstract: The ingestion of uncooked infected meat is considered important in the epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in humans and little is known of the prevalence of viable T. gondii in meat used for human consumption in the U.S.  In the present study, viable T. gondii was isolated from 51 of 55 of pigs destined for human consumption.  Hearts and tongues (500 g) from 55, 6-mo-old  pigs from a farm in Massachusetts were bioassayed for T. gondii by feeding to T. gondii-free cats. Feces of these cats were examined for shedding of T. gondii oocysts.  Fifty one of 55 cats fed pig tissues each shed 25 to 810 million T. gondii oocysts in their feces.  Two of these cats consumed tissues of pigs that were shown to be seronegative with the  Sabin-Feldman dye test, the modified agglutination test, and the Western blot. Results indicate that until examination of meat for T. gondii infection is implemented in slaughter houses, all meat should be cooked according to industry guidelines before human consumption.


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