Exposure to toxoplasma gondii in asian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus) in thailand

Toxoplasma gondii is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis in humans and various animal species worldwide. In Thailand, seroprevalence studies on T. gondii have focused on domestic animals, and information on infections in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus) is scarce. This study was conducted...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ruenruetai Udonsom, Yoshifumi Nishikawa, Ragab M. Fereig, Thitirat Topisit, Natchakorn Kulkaweewut, Supitcha Chanamrung, Charoonluk Jirapattharasate
Other Authors: Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University
Format: Article
Published: 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/73537
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Institution: Mahidol University
id th-mahidol.73537
record_format dspace
spelling th-mahidol.735372022-08-04T11:40:23Z Exposure to toxoplasma gondii in asian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus) in thailand Ruenruetai Udonsom Yoshifumi Nishikawa Ragab M. Fereig Thitirat Topisit Natchakorn Kulkaweewut Supitcha Chanamrung Charoonluk Jirapattharasate Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University South Valley University Mahidol University Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology Immunology and Microbiology Medicine Toxoplasma gondii is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis in humans and various animal species worldwide. In Thailand, seroprevalence studies on T. gondii have focused on domestic animals, and information on infections in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus) is scarce. This study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in archival sera collected from 268 elephants living in Thailand. The serum samples were analyzed for anti-T. gondii immunoglobulin G antibodies using the latex agglutination test (LAT) and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) based on T. gondii lysate antigen (TLA-iELISA) and recombinant T. gondii dense granular antigen 8 protein (TgGRA8-iELISA). The prevalence of antibodies against T. gondii was 45.1% (121/268), 40.7% (109/268), and 44.4% (119/268) using LAT, TLA-iELISA, and TgGRA8-iELISA, respectively. Young elephants had a higher seropositivity rate than elephants aged >40 years (odds ratio = 6.6; p < 0.001; 95% confidence interval: 2.9–15.4). When LAT was used as the reference, TLA-iELISA and TgGRA8-iELISA showed a substantial (κ = 0.69) and moderate (κ = 0.42) agreement, respectively. Although our findings suggest the widespread exposure of Asian elephants to T. gondii in Thailand, the source of infection was not investigated. Therefore, investigation of the predisposing factors associated with toxoplasmosis is necessary to identify the potential risk factors for infection. 2022-08-04T03:46:12Z 2022-08-04T03:46:12Z 2022-01-01 Article Pathogens. Vol.11, No.1 (2022) 10.3390/pathogens11010002 20760817 2-s2.0-85121672784 https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/73537 Mahidol University SCOPUS https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85121672784&origin=inward
institution Mahidol University
building Mahidol University Library
continent Asia
country Thailand
Thailand
content_provider Mahidol University Library
collection Mahidol University Institutional Repository
topic Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Immunology and Microbiology
Medicine
spellingShingle Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Immunology and Microbiology
Medicine
Ruenruetai Udonsom
Yoshifumi Nishikawa
Ragab M. Fereig
Thitirat Topisit
Natchakorn Kulkaweewut
Supitcha Chanamrung
Charoonluk Jirapattharasate
Exposure to toxoplasma gondii in asian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus) in thailand
description Toxoplasma gondii is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis in humans and various animal species worldwide. In Thailand, seroprevalence studies on T. gondii have focused on domestic animals, and information on infections in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus) is scarce. This study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in archival sera collected from 268 elephants living in Thailand. The serum samples were analyzed for anti-T. gondii immunoglobulin G antibodies using the latex agglutination test (LAT) and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) based on T. gondii lysate antigen (TLA-iELISA) and recombinant T. gondii dense granular antigen 8 protein (TgGRA8-iELISA). The prevalence of antibodies against T. gondii was 45.1% (121/268), 40.7% (109/268), and 44.4% (119/268) using LAT, TLA-iELISA, and TgGRA8-iELISA, respectively. Young elephants had a higher seropositivity rate than elephants aged >40 years (odds ratio = 6.6; p < 0.001; 95% confidence interval: 2.9–15.4). When LAT was used as the reference, TLA-iELISA and TgGRA8-iELISA showed a substantial (κ = 0.69) and moderate (κ = 0.42) agreement, respectively. Although our findings suggest the widespread exposure of Asian elephants to T. gondii in Thailand, the source of infection was not investigated. Therefore, investigation of the predisposing factors associated with toxoplasmosis is necessary to identify the potential risk factors for infection.
author2 Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University
author_facet Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University
Ruenruetai Udonsom
Yoshifumi Nishikawa
Ragab M. Fereig
Thitirat Topisit
Natchakorn Kulkaweewut
Supitcha Chanamrung
Charoonluk Jirapattharasate
format Article
author Ruenruetai Udonsom
Yoshifumi Nishikawa
Ragab M. Fereig
Thitirat Topisit
Natchakorn Kulkaweewut
Supitcha Chanamrung
Charoonluk Jirapattharasate
author_sort Ruenruetai Udonsom
title Exposure to toxoplasma gondii in asian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus) in thailand
title_short Exposure to toxoplasma gondii in asian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus) in thailand
title_full Exposure to toxoplasma gondii in asian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus) in thailand
title_fullStr Exposure to toxoplasma gondii in asian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus) in thailand
title_full_unstemmed Exposure to toxoplasma gondii in asian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus) in thailand
title_sort exposure to toxoplasma gondii in asian elephants (elephas maximus indicus) in thailand
publishDate 2022
url https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/73537
_version_ 1763496493936803840