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White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are a reservoir of a diversity of Toxoplasma gondii strains in the USA and pose a risk to consumers of undercooked venison

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2020

J. P. Dubey Open the ORCID record for J. P. Dubey [Opens in a new window] ,
C. K. Cerqueira-Cézar ,
F. H. A. Murata ,
S. K. Verma ,
O. C. H. Kwok ,
K. Pedersen ,
B. M. Rosenthal  and
C. Su
J. P. Dubey*
Affiliation:
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Building 1001, Beltsville, MD20705-2350, USA
C. K. Cerqueira-Cézar
Affiliation:
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Building 1001, Beltsville, MD20705-2350, USA
F. H. A. Murata
Affiliation:
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Building 1001, Beltsville, MD20705-2350, USA
S. K. Verma
Affiliation:
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Building 1001, Beltsville, MD20705-2350, USA
O. C. H. Kwok
Affiliation:
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Building 1001, Beltsville, MD20705-2350, USA
K. Pedersen
Affiliation:
United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, 920 Main Campus Drive, Suite 200 Raleigh, NC, 27606, USA
B. M. Rosenthal
Affiliation:
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Building 1001, Beltsville, MD20705-2350, USA
C. Su
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN37996-0845, USA
*
Author for correspondence: J. P. Dubey, E-mail: Jitender.dubey@ars.usda.gov
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Abstract

To assess the role of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus, WTD) in the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis, we conducted a national survey of WTD across the USA for Toxoplasma gondii infection. To do this, we combined serology with parasite isolation to evaluate the prevalence and genetic diversity of T. gondii in this game species. From October 2012 to March 2019, serum and tissues were collected from 914 WTD across the USA. Serum samples were screened for antibodies to T. gondii, and then the tissues of seropositive WTD were bioassayed in mice. Antibodies were detected in 329 (36%) of 914 WTD tested by the modified agglutination test (positive reaction at 1:25 or higher). Viable T. gondii was isolated from the heart of 36 WTD from 11 states. Three of the 36 isolates were pathogenic but not highly virulent to outbred Swiss Webster mice and all 36 isolates could be propagated further in cell culture and were genotyped. For genotyping, DNA extracted from cell culture-derived tachyzoites was characterized by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) using the genetic markers SAG1, SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, GRA6, c22-8, c29-2, L358, PK1 and Apico. Genotyping revealed seven ToxoDB PCR-RFLP genotypes, including 24 isolates for genotype #5 (haplogroup 12), four isolates for #2 (type III, haplogroup 3), three isolates for genotypes #1 (type II, haplogroup 2), two isolates for genotypes #3 (type II, haplogroup 2) and one isolate each for #39, #221 and #224. Genotype #5 was the most frequently isolated, accounting for 66.6% (24 of 36) of the isolates. Combining the 36 isolates from this study with previously reported 69 isolates from WTD, 15 genotypes have been identified. Among these, 50.4% (53/105) isolates belong to genotype #5. Our results indicate moderate genetic diversity of T. gondii in WTD. The results also indicate that undercooked venison should not be consumed by humans or fed to cats.

Keywords

IsolationToxoplasma gondiitoxoplasmosisUSAwhite-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 147 , Issue 7 , June 2020 , pp. 775 - 781
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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