Prevalence and Genotype of <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> Infection in Cattle from Jilin Province, Northeastern China

Abstract

Abstract The prevalence and genotype of Toxoplasma gondii infection in cattle in Jilin Province, northeastern China was investigated. A total of 1040 serum samples were collected from eight administrative regions from September to October, 2011, and antibodies to T. gondii were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results showed that the overall seroprevalence of T. gondii in cattle was 12.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 10.8-14.8%), with a higher prevalence of 22.2% (95% CI 13.6-30.8%) in Siping. Sixty-six tissue samples were collected from Changchun, and T. gondii DNA was detected by a nested PCR. There were nine (13.6%; 95% CI 5.4-21.9%) positive samples, which were genotyped using 11 genetic markers for PCR restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP). Only one sample could be completely genotyped, and all of the loci were grouped into clonal type I, except for type III at the GRA6 locus, implying that T. gondii in cattle in Changchun, Jilin Province was type I variant. This study is the first report on genotype of T. gondii infection in cattle in China.