Raluca Gavrea

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in Dairy Goats from Romania

Little information is available about the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum infections in goats in Romania and even in Europe. During 2007-2010, 735 serum samples were collected from dairy goats located in 4 historical regions (Crişana, Maramureş, Transylvania and Muntenia) of Romania. Sera were analyzed for T. gondii and N. caninum antibodies (IgG type) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using two commercial kits (Chekit Toxotest Antibody ELISA and Chekit Neospora caninum Antibody ELISA; Idexx-Bommeli, Switzerland). Three hundred and eighty-eight out of 735 (52.8%) goats presented T. gondii antibodies and 12 out of 512 (2.3%) goats had N. caninum antibodies. The high seroprevalence of T. gondii suggests that infection with this parasite is common in dairy goats in Romania, and less common the infection with N. caninum. This is the first time that infection with N. caninum in goats has been reported in Romania and the first extended study on seroepidemiology of T. gondii.

First detection of Echinococcus granulosus G1 and G7 in wild boars (Sus scrofa) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Romania using PCR and PCR-RFLP techniques.

The epidemiological status of CE in our country places Romania into the top of the European countries and among the first countries worldwide. Two hundred ninety wild animals (267 wild boars, 21 red deer and 2 mouflons) hunted in a private ground from Bihor county from western Romania were the subject of the necropsy in January 2012.Out of 290 wild animals, 35 were positive during necropsy for hydatic cysts and from these, 33 wild boars and 2 red deer had hydatic cystsonly in the liver parenchyma. This paper presents the first identification of Echinococcus granulosus G1 in cervids (100%). In wild boars it were identified G1 (45.5%) and G7 genotypes (39.4%). The mouflons were free of hydatic cysts. Our resultsconfirmthat the sheep strain (G1) is the predominant Echinococcus genotype, which occurs, followed closely by the pig strain (G7) and that wildlife reservoirs should be taken in consideration for the management of the disease.

Geographical distribution and prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi genospecies in questing Ixodes ricinus from Romania: a countrywide study.

The paper reports the prevalence and geographical distribution of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) and its genospecies in 12,221 questing Ixodes ricinus ticks collected at 183 locations from all the 41 counties of Romania. The unfed ticks were examined for the presence of B. burgdorferi s.l. by PCR targeting the intergenic spacer 5S-23S. Reverse line blot hybridization (RLB) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis were performed for identification of B. burgdorferi genospecies. The overall prevalence of infection was 1.4%, with an average local prevalence between 0.75% and 18.8%. B. burgdorferi s.l. was found in ticks of 55 of the 183 localities. The overall prevalence B. burgdorferi s.l. in ticks in the infected localities was 3.8%. The total infection prevalence was higher in female ticks than in other developmental stages. Three Borrelia genospecies were detected. The most widely distributed genospecies was B. afzelii, followed by B. garinii and B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.). The study is the first countrywide study and the first report of B. burgdorferi s.s. in Romania. The distribution maps show that higher prevalences were recorded in hilly areas, but Lyme borreliosis spirochetes were also present in forested lowlands, albeit with a lower prevalence.

Epidemiological survey of Neospora caninum infection in dogs from Romania.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the seroprevalence of Neospora caninum infection in dogs from Romania at a national level and to detect possible correlations between the value of seroprevalence and a series of factors like sex, age, breed category and area. The prevalence of anti-N. caninum antibodies was determined in sera samples from 1114 dogs located in different regions of Romania using the IFAT method. Antibodies to N. caninum were found in 364 dogs (32.7%). The titers of anti-N. caninum antibodies varied from 1:50 to 1:800.

Characterization of host-parasite interactions during the experimental Trichinella spiralis infection in pigs

SummaryThe aim of the present experiment was to assess the clinical, haematological, biochemical and immunological responses of pigs experimentally infected with Trichinella spiralis. One group of 6 pigs was infected with 1500 larvae/kg body weight and one group of 7, was maintained as control. The highest larval density was in the diaphragm (504.3 ± 8.2). During the experimental T. spiralis infection in pigs, increased values of total granulocyte number, eosinophils, blood glucose, K+ concentration, CK, ALT, AST and ALP were registered in different stages of infection. A slight increase of the phagocytic activity was registered 14 days p.i., in the infected group. Significantly increased values in lymphocyte activity, in infected group, was observed 30 and 60 days p.i. comparative with control. The specific IgG antibodies were detectable by ELISA at 14 days p.i. The results obtained in this study provide a better understanding about complete interactions occurring during Trichinella infection in pigs.