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Title:   Author  item
                                            ALVARADO-ESQUIVEL, COSME - Juarez University Of The State Of Durangoitem
                                            ROMERO-SALAS, DORA - University Of Veracruzanaitem
                                            GARCIA-VAZQUEZ, ZEFERINO - Desiderio Finamore Veterinary Research Institute (FEPAGRO)item
                                            CRUZ-ROMERO, ANABEL - University Of Veracruzanaitem
                                            PENICHE-CARDENA, ALVARO - Desiderio Finamore Veterinary Research Institute (FEPAGRO)item
                                            IBARRA-PRIEGO, NELLY - University Of Veracruzanaitem
                                            AGUILAR-DOMINGUEZ, MARIEL - University Of Veracruzanaitem
                                            Perez De Leon, Adalberto

                                                         - *Beto*item
                                            Dubey, Jitender
  Submitted to: BioMed Central (BMC) Veterinary Research
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 9/22/2014
                                    Publication  Date: 10/1/2014
                                    Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/62304Citation: Alvarado-Esquivel, C., Romero-Salas, D., Garcia-Vazquez, Z., Cruz-Romero, A., Peniche-Cardena, A., Ibarra-Priego, N., Aguilar-Dominguez, M., Perez-De-Leon, A., Dubey, J.P. 2014. Seroprevalence and correlates of Toxoplasma gondii infection in water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) in Veracruz state, Mexico. BioMed Central (BMC) Veterinary Research. 10:232e.Interpretive Summary: Toxoplasmosis is a worldwide zoonosis. It is caused by Toxoplasma gondii is a single-celled parasite of all warm-blooded hosts. It causes mental retardation and loss of vision inchildren, and abortion in livestock. Cats are the main reservoir of T. gondii because they are the only hosts that can excrete the resistant stage (oocyst) of the parasite in the feces. Humans become infected by eating under cooked meat from infected animals and food and water contaminated with oocysts. In the present study, author report a very high (48.7% f 339) seroprevalence of Toxoplasma in buffaloes slaughtered for human consumption in Mexico. The findings have implications for public health and results will be of interest to biologists and Parasitologists.
                                Technical Abstract: Background: Infection with Toxoplasma gondii in water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) is of epidemiological importance because of the risk for transmission to humans. We sought to determine the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in 339 water buffaloes in Veracruz State, Mexico using the modified agglutination test (MAT, cut off 1:25). Seroprevalence association with general characteristics of buffaloes and their environment was also investigated.
Results: Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 165 (48.7%) of the 339 buffaloes with MAT titers of 1:25 in 104, 1:50 in 52, and 1:100 in 9. Bivariate analysis showed that seroprevalence of T. gondii infection was similar in buffaloes regardless of their general characteristics i.e., age, sex, and breed. In contrast, the seroprevalence in buffaloes varied significantly with environmental characteristics including altitude, mean annual temperature, and mean annual rainfall of the municipalities studied. Multivariate analysis showed that T. gondii seropositivity in buffaloes was associated with a mean annual rainfall between 1266-1650 mm (OR =1.84; 95% CI: 1.15-2.94; P=0.01).
Conclusions: Results indicate that environmental characteristics may influence the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in buffaloes. This is the first report on the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in buffaloes in Mexico. Further research is needed to assess the risk for infection in humans associated with the ingestion of raw or undercooked meat from buffaloes infected with T. gondii.


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