<i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> Antibodies in Raw Milk and Sera of Cows in China

oleh: Yu-Min Liu, Yang-Yang Zhang, Lu Wang, Hai-Yang Wang, Chun-Hua Li, Yu-Hang Jiang, Wu-Wen Sun

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-09-01

Deskripsi

<i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> is a worldwide food-borne protozoa that has harmful influences on animal and human health. Raw milk containing <i>T. gondii</i> has been considered as one of the possible infectious sources for humans. Although China is one of the world’s leading milk consumers, there is still no study to investigate the seroprevalence of <i>T. gondii</i> in raw cow milk in China; especially for cows in rural areas. Thus, we conducted this study to examine the specific anti-<i>T. gondii</i> IgG-antibody in the raw milk and sera of domestic cows in China. In total, 894 cows were randomly selected from rural areas in northeastern China. The positive rate of <i>T. gondii</i> in the milk and serum samples were 6.38% (57/894) and 7.16% (64/894), respectively. Moreover, a history of abortion (OR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.11–3.72, <i>p</i> = 0.022) was identified as the only risk factor for <i>T. gondii</i> infection in the studied cows. This study investigated the seroprevalence of <i>T. gondii</i> in the raw milk and sera of cows in China; it provided timely and useful data for public health and food safety, especially in rural areas.