Seroprevalence of Specific Antibodies to <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i>, <i>Neospora caninum</i>, and <i>Brucella</i> spp. in Sheep and Goats in Egypt
Ragab M. Fereig,
Gamal Wareth,
Hanan H. Abdelbaky,
Amira M. Mazeed,
Mohamed El-Diasty,
Adel Abdelkhalek,
Hassan Y. A. H. Mahmoud,
Alsagher O. Ali,
Abdelrahman El-tayeb,
Abdullah F. Alsayeqh,
Caroline F. Frey
Affiliations
Ragab M. Fereig
Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University, Qena 83523, Egypt
Gamal Wareth
Friedrich-Loeffler Institut, Institute of Bacterial Infections and Zoonosis, Naumburger Str. 96a, 07743 Jena, Germany
Hanan H. Abdelbaky
Doctor of Veterinary Sciences, Veterinary Clinic, Veterinary Directorate, Qena 83523, Egypt
Amira M. Mazeed
Department of Infectious Disease, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Arish University, Arish 45516, Egypt
Mohamed El-Diasty
Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Animal Health Research Institute-Mansoura Provincial Lab (AHRI-Mansoura), P.O. Box 264-Giza, Cairo 12618, Egypt
Adel Abdelkhalek
School of Veterinary Medicine, Badr University, Cairo 11829, Egypt
Hassan Y. A. H. Mahmoud
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University, Qena 83523, Egypt
Alsagher O. Ali
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University, Qena 83523, Egypt
Abdelrahman El-tayeb
Educational Veterinary Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University, Qena 83523, Egypt
Abdullah F. Alsayeqh
Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Buraidah 51452, Saudi Arabia
Caroline F. Frey
Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse-Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 122, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
Toxoplasmosis, neosporosis, and brucellosis are devastating diseases causing infectious abortion and, therefore, substantial economic losses in farm animals. Toxoplasmosis and neosporosis are caused by the intracellular protozoan parasites Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) and Neospora caninum (N. caninum), respectively. Brucellosis is a bacterial disease caused by numerous Brucella species in multiple hosts. Toxoplasmosis and brucellosis are also considered foodborne zoonotic diseases. In the current study, specific antibodies to T. gondii and N. caninum, in addition to those to Brucella spp., were detected to gain a better understanding of the epidemiological situation for these three pathogens. Sheep and goat sera from Egypt (n = 360) of animals with and without a history of abortion were tested using commercial ELISAs. Seropositivity rates of 46.1%, 11.9%, and 8.6% for T. gondii, N. caninum, and Brucella spp., respectively, were revealed. Mixed infections with T. gondii and Brucella spp. (4.4%), T. gondii and N. caninum (4.2%), N. caninum and Brucella spp. (1.4%), and even some triple infections (0.6%) have been observed. Animals with a history of abortion had a significantly higher seroprevalence for Brucella spp. infection than those without abortion (12.6%; 28/222 vs. 2.2%; 3/138) (p = 0.0005; Odds ratio = 1.9–21.8), while none of the other pathogens showed a similar effect. This result suggests brucellosis as a possible cause of abortion in the study population. However, the high seroprevalence for T. gondii and N. caninum revealed in our study warrants further investigations.
