Submitted to: International Congress of Parasitologists
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: March 29, 2002
Publication Date: N/A
Technical Abstract:
The ingestion of uncooked infected meat is considered important in the epidemiology of T. gondii in the U.S. Among the 3 major sources of meat (pork, beef, poultry), prevalence of T. gondii in pigs rages <1 to 20% but is declining. Overall, <3% of market age pigs have antibodies to T. gondii. The prevalence of T. gondii in beef and poultry is unknown but T. gondii has not yet been isolated from beef and commercially-raised chickens and turkeys. Efforts are now underway to estimate prevalence of viable T. gondii in > 6000 samples of meat (beef, chicken, and pork) from retail outlets in 28 metropolitan areas in the U.S., representing approximately 80% of the U.S. population. Genotyping of T. gondii strains from all classes of food animals, including wildlife, is underway to understand the epidemiology of T. gondii. Among game animals, T. gondii is prevalent in approximately 80% of black bears and 30-60% of white-tailed deer.
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