AI Article Synopsis
- Abortion in sheep flocks is a significant economic concern in Tunisia, but there's limited knowledge about the agents causing these abortions, specifically Brucella spp, Toxoplasma gondii, and Coxiella burnetii.
- A study tested blood samples from 793 sheep across 26 flocks, revealing seroprevalence rates of 19.7% for Toxoplasma, 17.2% for Coxiella, and 16.1% for Brucella, with mixed infections present in all flocks.
- The study identified several risk factors—such as flock management practices and neighborhood abortion history—that could increase infection rates, indicating a need for further research to develop effective prevention strategies.
Article Abstract
Background: Abortion is a serious problem for sheep flocks and it is responsible for considerable economic losses. The epidemiological situation of abortion causing agents in sheep is poorly documented in Tunisia. This study aims to investigate the status of three abortion causing agents (Brucella spp, Toxoplasma gondii, and Coxiella burnetii) among organized flocks in Tunisia.
Results: A total of 793 sample blood collected from twenty-six flocks in seven governorates in Tunisia, were tested by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (i-ELISA) for antibodies against three abortion causing agents (Brucella spp, Toxoplasma gondii, and Coxiella burnetii). Risk factors for individual-level seroprevalence were analyzed using a logistic regression model. Results revealed that 19.7%, 17.2%, and 16.1% of the tested sera were positive for toxoplasmosis, Q fever, and brucellosis, respectively. Mixed infection was found in all the flocks with 3 to 5 responsible abortive agents simultaneously. Logistic regression showed that the management practices (control of new introduction, common grazing and watering point, workers exchange, presence of lambing box on the farm) and the history of infertility and the presence of abortion in neighboring flocks were likely to increase the probability of being infected by the three abortive agents.
Conclusions: Evidence of the positive relationship between seroprevalence of abortion causing agents and several risk factors, suggests further investigations to better understand the etiology of infectious abortions in flocks to develop an applicable preventive and control program.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9930233 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12917-022-03541-9 | DOI Listing |
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