标题：THE OCCURRENCE OF TOXOPLASMA GONDII INFECTION IN PEOPLE AND ANIMALS FROM RURAL ENVIRONMENT OF LUBLIN REGION – ESTIMATE OF POTENTIAL ROLE OF WATER AS A SOURCE OF INFECTION
期刊名称：Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine
印刷版ISSN：1232-1966
电子版ISSN：1898-2263
出版年度：2010
卷号：17
期号：01
页码：125-125
出版社：Institute of Agricultural Medicine in Lublin
摘要：Abstract: A total of 254 humans and 489 domestic animals living on farms in the Lublin
province (eastern Poland) were examined for the presence of antibodies against Toxoplasma
gondii using, respectively, the ELFA and direct agglutination tests. In parallel,
182 samples of potable water, mostly from shallow household wells, were taken on farms
and examined for the presence of T. gondii by microscopy and PCR. The frequency of seropositive
reactions in farm inhabitants (66.9%) was signifi cantly greater (p<0.01) compared
to the reference group of 39 healthy urban dwellers (41.0%). A highly signifi cant
positive correlation was found between the age of examined farm inhabitants and the rate
of positive reactions with Toxoplasma antigen (p<0.0001). Among domestic animals, the
greatest frequency of seropositive reactions to T. gondii occurred in cats (75.0%) and
dogs (53.6%), less frequent in cattle (33.8%) and hens (33.5%) and the least frequent in
pigs (17.9%) and ducks (21.2%). The presence of T. gondii was found in potable water
samples taken from water intakes on farms: in 12.6% of samples by microscopy, and in
22.5% of samples by PCR. Among 19 water samples taken from bathing places on the
territory of the Lublin province, 2 samples positive for T. gondii (10.5%) were found by
microscopic examination and confi rmed by PCR. The presence of live parasites in water
samples was demonstrated by the isolation of Toxoplasma gondii strains in mice. By
use of RFLP-PCR it was found that the majority of isolated Toxoplasma strains (78.0%)
belonged to clonal type I which is most virulent for humans and animals. Although no
statistically signifi cant relationship between the presence of T. gondii in water and occurrence
of seropositive reactions in farm inhabitants and/or domestic animals could be
found, the above-mentioned data suggest a potential role of potable water in the spread of
toxoplasmosis in the rural environment.
