Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #313289
Title: Toxoplasma gondii in horse meat intended for human consumption in Romania

Author
item PASTIU, ANAMARIA - University Of Agricultural Sciences And Veterinary Medicine - Romania
item GYORKE, ADRIANA - University Of Agricultural Sciences And Veterinary Medicine - Romania
item KALMAR, ZSUZSA - University Of Agricultural Sciences And Veterinary Medicine - Romania
item BOLFA, POMPEI - Ross University
item Rosenthal, Benjamin
item OLTEAN, MIRUNA - University Of Agricultural Sciences And Veterinary Medicine - Romania
item VILLENA, ISABELLE - Laboratoire Parasitologie-Mycologie
item SPINU, MARINA - University Of Agricultural Sciences And Veterinary Medicine - Romania
item COZMA, VASILE - University Of Agricultural Sciences And Veterinary Medicine - Romania

Submitted to: Veterinary Parasitology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/23/2015
Publication Date: 7/28/2015
Citation: Pastiu, A.I., Gyorke, A., Kalmar, Z., Bolfa, P., Rosenthal, B.M., Oltean, M., Villena, I., Spinu, M., Cozma, V. 2015. Toxoplasma gondii in horse meat intended for human consumption in Romania. Veterinary Parasitology. 15:393-395.

Interpretive Summary: Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic infection that can be contracted by eating a variety of contaminated meats, or from ingesting a stage of the parasite shed by cats. In the United States, rates of toxoplasmosis in swine had decreased in response to increased attention to biosecurity, but grazing animals remain at elevated risk at becoming infected. Here, an ARS researcher assisted a team in Romania in characterizing the extent and nature of infection in horses intended for human consumption. Although horse meat is rarely consumed in the USA, it is a preferred food in several countries and, because it is often consumed rare or raw, raises especially grave food safety concerns abroad. Here, it was found that between 1/4 and 1/2 of all horses had antibodies to Toxoplsamsa gondii, and that a viable, virluent genotype of the parasite could be isolated by feeding such meat to mice. These data underscore how frequently pastured animals are exposed to this zoonotic parasite and help characterize risks exemplified by recent outbreaks of human disease in Europe attributed to the consumption of horse meat. These results will interest parasitologists, epidemiologists, veterinarians, and food safety authorities.

Technical 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. This study has aimed to assess the potential impact of Romanian horses’ toxoplasmosis on the public health. 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 horses (39%) and 31 horses (37.8%) 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. Polymerase chain reaction – restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP) – at eight independent loci was used to determine the type’s lineage of T. gondii strains isolated from horses. Viable infections of a virulent type I lineage of T. gondii were found in horsemeat intended for human consumption. The prevalence estimated in horses highlighted the potential risk for human contamination by consumption of raw or undercooked meat.