Toxoplasma gondii Oocyst–specific Antibodies and Source of Infection | CDC EID

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Volume 16, Number 10–October 2010
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Toxoplasma gondii Oocyst–specific Antibodies and Source of Infection

Claudia A. Muñoz-Zanzi Comments to Author, Paulina Fry, Blaz Lesina, and Dolores Hill
Author affiliations: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA (C. Muñoz-Zanzi); Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile (C. Muñoz-Zanzi, P. Fry, B. Lesina); and United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland, USA (D. Hill)

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract
Infection source can determine cost-effective public health interventions. To quantify risk of acquiring Toxoplasma gondii from environmental sources versus from meat, we examined serum from pregnant women in Chile. Because 43% had oocyst-specific antibodies, we conclude that contaminated meat remains the primary source of infection but that environmental sources also pose substantial risk.

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease that occurs worldwide and is caused by the protozoon Toxoplasma gondii. The public health relevance of toxoplasmosis relates to congenital (1) and postnatal infection (2–4). The distribution of postnatal infection is highly variable worldwide, or even within a country, probably because of environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural factors. Seroprevalence estimates range from 11% in the United States (5) to >70% in Brazil (6). Postnatal infection is caused by ingestion of undercooked meat containing tissue cysts; ingestion of water, fruits, vegetables, and shellfish contaminated with oocysts; or unintentional ingestion of cat feces or soil that contain oocysts (7,8). Population studies to determine specific risk factors for infection and source attribution have been based on the epidemiologic analysis of information from questionnaires administered to infected and uninfected persons; however, applicability of this method is limited. The relative roles of various potential sources are not known and probably vary from population to population. Knowledge of sources of infection within a specific type of community can provide valuable information for designing cost-effective food safety and public health interventions. Our objective, therefore, was to quantify the risk of acquiring infection from environmental sources (oocysts) compared with the risk from eating meat. We did so by detecting antibodies against a recombinant sporozoite-specific protein (SSP), which is found only in the oocyst (sporozoite) stage of the parasite (9,10).

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Toxoplasma gondii Oocyst–specific Antibodies and Source of Infection | CDC EID

Suggested Citation for this Article

Muñoz-Zanzi CA, Fry P, Lesina B, Hill D. Toxoplasma gondii oocyst–specific antibodies and source of infection. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2010 Oct [date cited]. http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/16/10/1591.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1610.091674

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Address for correspondence: Claudia A. Muñoz-Zanzi, Suite 300, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, 1300 S 2nd St, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA; email: munozzan@umn.edu