title: Toxoplasma gondii in horse meat intended for human consumption in Romania.
abstract: The prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii, an economically important zoonotic protozoan, was investigated in horses slaughtered for export and human consumption in the North of Romania. Pairs of samples, sera and heart tissues, were collected from 82 slaughtered horses. Examination of horse sera by ELISA at a dilution of 1:10, and by modified agglutination test (MAT) at a dilution of 1:6, revealed that 32 (39%) and 31(37.8%) horses, respectively, had antibodies against T. gondii. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis, T. gondii DNA was not found in any heart sample collected from horses. By bioassay in mice, we obtained viable isolates of T. gondii from two of ten horses determined to be strongly positive by serological assay/ELISA. The prevalence estimated in horses highlighted the potential risk for human contamination by consumption of raw or undercooked meat.
authors.affiliation: University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Infectious Diseases Department, 3-5 Mănăştur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania; University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases Department, 3-5 Mănăştur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Anamaria Ioana
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Paştiu
authors.affiliation: University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases Department, 3-5 Mănăştur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Electronic address: titilincua@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Györke
authors.affiliation: University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases Department, 3-5 Mănăştur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Zsuzsa
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kalmár
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, PO Box 334, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis; University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Pathology Department, 3-5 Mănăştur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Pompei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bolfă
authors.affiliation: Animal Parasitic Disease Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705, United States.
authors.forename: Benjamin Martin
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Rosenthal
authors.affiliation: University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases Department, 3-5 Mănăştur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Miruna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oltean
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Parasitology, EA 3800, SFR CAP SANTE, University Reims Champagne Ardenne, National Reference Center on Toxoplasmosis, Reims, France.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Villena
authors.affiliation: University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Infectious Diseases Department, 3-5 Mănăştur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spînu
authors.affiliation: University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases Department, 3-5 Mănăştur Street, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Vasile
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cozma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D016266:Food Parasitology; D006321:Heart / Q000469:parasitology; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000469:parasitology; D006736:Horses; D008460:Meat / Q000469:parasitology*; D051379:Mice; D012383:Romania / Q000453:epidemiology; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*
keywords: Bioassay; Horses; Romania; Seroprevalence; Toxoplasma gondii