Analysis of Risk Factors Associated with Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in Dairy Animals from Khartoum State, Sudan

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2012 and April 2014 to determine the sero-prevalence and the main risk factors associated with the T. gondii infection in dairy cattle and co-herded camels, sheep and goats in dairy farms from Khartoum State. A total of 1477 serum samples from 1216 dairy cows, 61 camels, 100 sheep and 100 goats were examined for specific T. gondii IgG antibodies using Latex Agglutination Test (LAT). The overall seroprevalence determined were 92.7% and 45.3% at herd and individual level, respectively. The antibody levels ranged from 1:2 to 1:32 in cattle and camels and up to 1:128 in sheep and goats. Possible association of the infection with the investigated risk factors was analyzed by univariate analysis and variables significant at p?0.25 were included in multivariate logistic regression models. The results showed that, the differences between the seven localities of the State and the four animal�s species were statistically highly significant (p<0.01). The univariate analysis included herd type, source of fodder, source of water, neosporosis, keeping cats, stray cats, keeping both dogs and cats and presence of both stray dogs and cats as risk factors associate with LAT positive status of T. gondii infection. Districts, production system, herd size, source of concentrate, brucellosis and presence of stray cats were not significant risk factors. The multivariate analysis indicated region (Omdurman and Bahri), Animal species (sheep), source of water (common canal) and source of fodder (prepared in the farm) as the significant (p<0.05) risk factors of T. gondii LAT seropositivity. The study also reported occurrence of abortion (72.4%), repeat breeding (76.3%), repeated abortion (18.2%) and stillbirth (18.4%) during interview with the owners of the investigated dairy herds. Interestingly, 61.8% of the interviewed farmers send their dairy animals with reproduction problems to slaughter houses. Generally, this is the first comprehensive report on risk factors associated with seropositivity of T. gondii infection in dairy animals in Sudan. The study concluded that dairy animals in the Sudan are widely exposed to T. gondii infection and Sudanese people are at risk of toxoplasmosis.