<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><italic>Toxoplasma gondii</italic> is a protozoan parasite prevalent in humans and other animals worldwide having medical and veterinary importance on account of reproductive failure causing significant socioeconomic losses. The aims of this study were to estimate the seroprevalence of <italic>T. gondii</italic> infection in goats, determined the possible risk factors associated, and evaluate the performances of the latex agglutination test (LAT) to anti-<italic>T. gondii</italic> antibodies screening using the indirect Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as a reference test (iELISA). A total of 184 serum samples from goats reared on 25 farms in Mila district from North-Eastern Algeria were collected and tested for anti-<italic>T. gondii</italic> IgG antibodies using two commercial serological tests (ELISA and LAT). A seroprevalence rate of 71.73 % and 63.58 % was obtained by both ELISA and LAT tests, respectively. The analysis of some factors thought to be related to the onset of this infection such as age, sex, management system, locality and presence of cats showed no significant relationship (P > 0.05); these factors did not seem to affect the frequency of the infection. The seropositivity level of <italic>T. gondii</italic> was significantly higher in aborted goats (P = 0.007), which suggested that they may play a significant role in pregnancy failure. In the concordance evaluation between the two serological tests (ELISA and LAT), the Cohen’s Kappa value was calculated and the results showed a K of 0.519 (p = 0.000) belonging to the range of 0.41—0.60 indicating just average agreement. The results of the Mc Nemar test showed that both tests gave significantly different results and seropositivity values (P &lt; 0.05). The high prevalence observed in this study indicated a widespread exposure to <italic>T. gondii</italic> from goats and the potential risk of <italic>T. gondii</italic> infection for humans in North-Eastern Algeria. These results elucidate the challenges of applying serology to estimate goat exposure to <italic>T. gondii</italic>. The choice between the two serological tests will depend on their performances, as well as the availability of the equipment, laboratory conditions and the number of samples to be tested.</p></abstract>

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite prevalent in humans and other animals worldwide having medical and veterinary importance on account of reproductive failure causing significant socioeconomic losses. The aims of this study were to estimate the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in goats, determined the possible risk factors associated, and evaluate the performances of the latex agglutination test (LAT) to anti-T. gondii antibodies screening using the indirect Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as a reference test (iELISA). A total of 184 serum samples from goats reared on 25 farms in Mila district from North-Eastern Algeria were collected and tested for anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies using two commercial serological tests (ELISA and LAT). A seroprevalence rate of 71.73 % and 63.58 % was obtained by both ELISA and LAT tests, respectively. The analysis of some factors thought to be related to the onset of this infection such as age, sex, management system, locality and presence of cats showed no significant relationship (P > 0.05); these factors did not seem to affect the frequency of the infection. The seropositivity level of T. gondii was significantly higher in aborted goats (P = 0.007), which suggested that they may play a significant role in pregnancy failure. In the concordance evaluation between the two serological tests (ELISA and LAT), the Cohen’s Kappa value was calculated and the results showed a K of 0.519 (p = 0.000) belonging to the range of 0.41—0.60 indicating just average agreement. The results of the Mc Nemar test showed that both tests gave significantly different results and seropositivity values (P < 0.05). The high prevalence observed in this study indicated a widespread exposure to T. gondii from goats and the potential risk of T. gondii infection for humans in North-Eastern Algeria. These results elucidate the challenges of applying serology to estimate goat exposure to T. gondii. The choice between the two serological tests will depend on their performances, as well as the availability of the equipment, laboratory conditions and the number of samples to be tested.

Serological Survey and Associated Risk Factors on <italic>Toxoplasma gondii</italic> Infection in Goats in Mila District, Algeria

Exploration and Valorization of Steppe Ecosystems Laboratory, Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences

Management of Animal Health and Productions Laboratory

Management of Local Animal Resources Laboratory

Folia Veterinaria

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Serological Survey and Associated Risk Factors on  Infection in Goats in Mila District, Algeria

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite prevalent in humans and other animals worldwide having medical and veterinary importance on account of reproductive...

Serological Survey and Associated Risk Factors on Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Goats in Mila District, Algeria

Published Online: Apr 13, 2020

Page range: 48 - 59

Received: Sep 20, 2019

Accepted: Feb 05, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fv-2020-0007

Keywords
Algeria, ELISA, goat, LAT, performances, risk factors,

© 2020 A. Dahmane et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Serological Survey and Associated Risk Factors on Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Goats in Mila District, Algeria

Published Online: Apr 13, 2020

Page range: 48 - 59

Received: Sep 20, 2019

Accepted: Feb 05, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fv-2020-0007

KeywordsAlgeria, ELISA, goat, LAT, performances, risk factors,

© 2020 A. Dahmane et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Algeria, ELISA, goat, LAT, performances, risk factors,