Biologic and molecular characterization of Toxoplasma gondii isolates from pigs from Portugal.

Susana Rodrigues de Sousa (1, 2) , Daniel Ajzenberg (2, 3) , Nuno Canada , Lina Freire , J. M. Correia da Costa , Marie-Laure Dardé (2, 3, 4) , P. Thulliez , J. P. Dubey

1 Center for Parasite Immunology and Biology
2 NETEC - Neuroépidémiologie Tropicale et Comparée
3 CNR Toxoplasmose-Toxoplasma BRC - Centre National de Référence (CNR) Toxoplasmose/Toxoplasma Biological Resource Center (BRC)
4 UNILIM - Université de Limoges

Little is known of Toxoplasma gondii infections in animals in Portugal. In the present paper, we report the first isolation of viable T. gondii from pigs in Portugal. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 52 (15.6%) of 333 pigs prior to slaughter using the modified agglutination test (MAT) at a serum dilution of 1:20. Attempts were made to isolate T. gondii from 37 seropositive pigs. Samples of brain and/or heart from each pig were digested in acid pepsin, and bioassayed into mice. Viable T. gondii was isolated from 15 pigs. Restriction fragment length polymorphism on products of SAG2 locus amplified by PCR and microsatellite analysis revealed that 11 isolates were Type II and four were Type III. The results indicate that phenotypically and genetically T. gondii are similar to isolates from pigs from the U.S.

Domaines: Parasitologie; Santé publique et épidémiologie

Susana Rodrigues de Sousa, Daniel Ajzenberg, Nuno Canada, Lina Freire, J. M. Correia da Costa, et al.. Biologic and molecular characterization of Toxoplasma gondii isolates from pigs from Portugal.. Veterinary Parasitology, 2006, 135 (2), pp.133-6. ⟨10.1016/j.vetpar.2005.08.012⟩. ⟨hal-00260618⟩