Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in Danish farmed mink (Mustela vison S.).
One hundred and ninety-five mink sera randomly selected from 17 Danish mink farms were evaluated for the presence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in the latex agglutination test. Six (3%) sera contained T. gondii antibodies in titres of 1:64 or more. The estimated 3% prevalence means that 300,000 mink out of a total mink population of ten million might be infected with Toxoplasma gondii. This large number of possible sero-positive mink in Denmark indicates that there exists a potential risk of acquiring toxoplasmosis by pelting mink.
Henriksen
P
P
National Veterinary Laboratory, Arhus, Denmark.
Dietz
H H
HH
Uttenthal
A
A
Hansen
M
M
D000382:Agricultural Workers' Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests / Q000662:veterinary; D008907:Mink / Q000469:parasitology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology*; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000209:etiology; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015047:Zoonoses
D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan