Original Research

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in domestic pigs reared under different management systems in Zimbabwe

T. Hove, P. Lind, S. Mukaratirwa
Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research | Vol 72, No 3 | a200 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ojvr.v72i3.200 | © 2005 T. Hove, P. Lind, S. Mukaratirwa | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 15 September 2005 | Published: 15 September 2005

About the author(s)

T. Hove,
P. Lind,
S. Mukaratirwa,

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Abstract

Serum samples from 474 domestic pigs (Sus scrofa) from Zimbabwe were tested for anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies using the indirect fluorescent antibody test. The results showed that T. gondii infection is widespread in Zimbabwean pigs. Seroprevalence was lowest in fattening pigs from large and small-scale commercial farms that practise good hygiene (19.75 % of 238) and highest in backyard scavenging pigs (35.71 % of 70). Only 11.7 % (11) of the 127 positive samples had titres of > 1:400 and nine (81.82 %) of these 11 originated from pigs reared under poor hygienic conditions. A prevalence of 3.51 % was found in the same group of fattening pigs using an indirect IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay at the single serum dilution of 1:400. The serosurvey shows the importance of modern intensive husbandry systems in reducing the prevalences of T. gondii infection in domestic pigs.

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Crossref Citations

1. Seroprevalence and associated risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection in domestic animals in southeastern South Africa
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Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research  vol: 86  issue: 1  year: 2019  
doi: 10.4102/ojvr.v86i1.1688