AUTHOR=Lv Qiu-Yan , Zheng He-Liang , Yang Wen-He , Liu Guo-Hua 

TITLE=Molecular Detection of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in Domestic Ducks in Hunan Province, China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2021.649603

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2021.649603

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Toxoplasma gondii</italic> and <italic>Neospora caninum</italic> are protozoan parasites that infect warm-blooded animals, and cause major economic losses in livestock industries worldwide. However, little is known about the genotypes of <italic>T. gondii</italic> and <italic>N. caninum</italic> in domestic ducks in China. Herein, brain samples from 588 domestic ducks from Hunan province in China were examined for the presence of <italic>T. gondii</italic> and <italic>N. caninum</italic>. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect <italic>T. gondii</italic> B1 gene and <italic>N. caninum NC-5</italic> gene. Forty-five DNA samples (7.7%; 95% CI: 5.5–9.9) were positive for B1 gene, and two (0.3%; 95% CI: 0–0.7) were positive for NC-5 gene. The risk factors significantly associated with <italic>T. gondii</italic> infection were age and sex. The 45 samples positive for <italic>T. gondii</italic> were genotyped using multi-locus PCR-RFLP analysis and only one sample was fully genotyped as ToxoDB#9 (Chinese I). These results provide new information about the epidemiology of <italic>T. gondii</italic> and <italic>N. caninum</italic> in ducks in Hunan province in China. The data also highlight the importance of a “One Health” approach to dealing with toxoplasmosis.</p>