Pasture is a risk factor for Toxoplasma gondii infection in fattening pigs.
As consumer awareness of animal welfare increases throughout Europe, housing of pigs in more animal-friendly systems is becoming more common. There is concern that these free-range and organic management systems increase the prevalence of zoonotic meat-borne pathogens, such as Toxoplasma gondii. In this study we compared the seroprevalence of T. gondii between commercial fattening pigs raised on conventional and on organic farms in Sweden. Furthermore, potential associations between presence of T. gondii antibodies and type of production, access to pasture, and geographical region were analysed. A significant difference in T. gondii seroprevalence was found between conventional (1%) and organic pigs (8%). The higher odds of seropositivity in organic production was attributed to pasture access specifically (OR=1.8 for a one-month increase in length of pasture exposure). This study shows that the prevalence of T. gondii in Swedish conventional pigs is low. However, as pigs with access to pasture are at higher risk of infection and because the demand for animal-friendly production systems is increasing, there is an obvious need to practically manage the higher T. gondii presence in products from pigs raised in organic systems with outdoor access.
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: camilla.wallander@gmail.se.
Camilla
C
Wallander
Department of Disease Control and Epidemiology, National Veterinary Institute, SE-751 89 Uppsala, Sweden; Department of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-532 23 Skara, Sweden.
Jenny
J
Frössling
Department of Disease Control and Epidemiology, National Veterinary Institute, SE-751 89 Uppsala, Sweden.
Fernanda C
FC
Dórea
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden.
Arvid
A
Uggla
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden.
Ivar
I
Vågsholm
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden; Department of Microbiology, National Veterinary Institute, SE-751 89 Uppsala, Sweden.
Anna
A
Lundén
D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000592:standards*; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D058871:Organic Agriculture / Q000592:standards*; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology*
D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan
Free-range; Meat juice; Organic; Pig; Serology; Toxoplasma gondii