title: Seroprevalence and genotypes of Toxoplasma gondii isolated from pigs intended for human consumption in Liaoning province, northeastern China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Genetic information for Toxoplasma gondii isolates from pigs in eastern, south, and southwestern regions of China has been reported previously. However, there are no data from pigs in the northeastern area of the country. To better understand the epidemiology of T. gondii, we determined the seroprevalence and genotypes of T. gondii from pigs slaughtered for human consumption in Liaoning province, northeastern China.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 2063 pigs examined, 233 (11.26%) were seropositive for T. gondii by the modified agglutination test (MAT), and viable parasites were isolated by bioassay in mice from 23 (9.87%) of the 233 seropositive pigs. Fifteen out of 23 isolates were genotyped using 10 PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) genetic markers including SAG1, SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, c22-8, c29-2, L358, PK1 and Apico. One isolate was identified as ToxoDB genotype #3 (type II-variant), and one was genotype #1 or #3. The other 13 isolates were ToxoDB #9 (type Chinese 1).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To our knowledge, this is the first report of T. gondii isolation and genotyping from pigs in northeastern China. This study indicates that pigs are a potential source for transmission of T. gondii to humans, therefore poses a potential public health concern. The genotyping results revealed the presence of genotype Chinese 1 in northeastern China, enriching the scope of T. gondii genotypes distribution in eastern Asia.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Zoonosis of Liaoning Province, College of Animal Science & Veterinary Medicine, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, 110866, P.R.China.
authors.forename: Dawei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, P.R.China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37996, USA.
authors.forename: Tiantian
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Zoonosis of Liaoning Province, College of Animal Science & Veterinary Medicine, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, 110866, P.R.China.
authors.forename: Guoxin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Zoonosis of Liaoning Province, College of Animal Science & Veterinary Medicine, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, 110866, P.R.China.
authors.forename: Gaoming
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Zoonosis of Liaoning Province, College of Animal Science & Veterinary Medicine, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, 110866, P.R.China.
authors.forename: Jianbin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37996, USA.
authors.forename: Chunlei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Zoonosis of Liaoning Province, College of Animal Science & Veterinary Medicine, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, 110866, P.R.China. dayangna@163.com.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D016266:Food Parasitology; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000235:genetics*; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*
keywords: China; Genotype; Pig; Seroprevalence; Toxoplasma gondii