A Pork Industry in the Backyard: An Analysis of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Serbia’s Pigs
Authors
Uzelac, AleksandraBetić, Nikola
Karabasil, Nedjeljko
Ćirković, Vladimir
Djurković-Djaković, Olgica
Klun, Ivana
Article (Published version)
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
As pork is an important source for Toxoplasma gondii infection, we have analyzed T. gondii
genotypes and toxoplasmosis prevalence in pigs in Serbia in the context of production statistics and
economics to assess the specific risk to public health. Genotyping was performed using MnPCRRFLP; T. gondii-specific IgG antibodies were detected using a modified agglutination test (MAT);
and statistical data were extracted from official records and provided by government authorities.
The results indicate that, from 2006 to 2021, the median number of annually slaughtered pigs
was 5.6 million, yet only 36.1% were processed by abattoirs. The remainder were “backyard pigs”
slaughtered on family farms and homesteads. Toxoplasmosis seroprevalence in market-weight (MW)
pigs prior to 2006 was 15.2%, and was 15.1% in 2019. The seroprevalence in owned city cats, likely
infected by livestock meat, was 33.2%. ToxoDB#1 was identified in pig tissues. The results indicate
that backyard pigs are the ba...ckbone of the industry and provide as much as 60% of the pork in
Serbia. The seroprevalence in pigs and city cats shows that farms are reservoirs for the parasite. Thus,
innovative means of reducing T. gondii infection designed with backyard farmers in mind are needed
to reduce the risk to public health.
Keywords:
Toxoplasma gondii / backyard pigs / prevalence / public health / biosecurity / oocystsSource:
Microorganisms, 2023, 11, 7, 1857-Publisher:
- MDPI
Funding / projects:
- Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, institutional funding - 200015 (University of Belgrade, Institute for Medical Research) (RS-MESTD-inst-2020-200015)
- Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, institutional funding - 200050 (Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade) (RS-MESTD-inst-2020-200050)
- Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia, institutional funding - 200143 (University of Belgrade, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine) (RS-MESTD-inst-2020-200143)
Collections
Institution/Community
Fakultet veterinarske medicineTY - JOUR AU - Uzelac, Aleksandra AU - Betić, Nikola AU - Karabasil, Nedjeljko AU - Ćirković, Vladimir AU - Djurković-Djaković, Olgica AU - Klun, Ivana PY - 2023 UR - https://vet-erinar.vet.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/3136 AB - As pork is an important source for Toxoplasma gondii infection, we have analyzed T. gondii genotypes and toxoplasmosis prevalence in pigs in Serbia in the context of production statistics and economics to assess the specific risk to public health. Genotyping was performed using MnPCRRFLP; T. gondii-specific IgG antibodies were detected using a modified agglutination test (MAT); and statistical data were extracted from official records and provided by government authorities. The results indicate that, from 2006 to 2021, the median number of annually slaughtered pigs was 5.6 million, yet only 36.1% were processed by abattoirs. The remainder were “backyard pigs” slaughtered on family farms and homesteads. Toxoplasmosis seroprevalence in market-weight (MW) pigs prior to 2006 was 15.2%, and was 15.1% in 2019. The seroprevalence in owned city cats, likely infected by livestock meat, was 33.2%. ToxoDB#1 was identified in pig tissues. The results indicate that backyard pigs are the backbone of the industry and provide as much as 60% of the pork in Serbia. The seroprevalence in pigs and city cats shows that farms are reservoirs for the parasite. Thus, innovative means of reducing T. gondii infection designed with backyard farmers in mind are needed to reduce the risk to public health. PB - MDPI T2 - Microorganisms T1 - A Pork Industry in the Backyard: An Analysis of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Serbia’s Pigs VL - 11 IS - 7 SP - 1857 DO - 10.3390/microorganisms11071857 ER -
@article{ author = "Uzelac, Aleksandra and Betić, Nikola and Karabasil, Nedjeljko and Ćirković, Vladimir and Djurković-Djaković, Olgica and Klun, Ivana", year = "2023", abstract = "As pork is an important source for Toxoplasma gondii infection, we have analyzed T. gondii genotypes and toxoplasmosis prevalence in pigs in Serbia in the context of production statistics and economics to assess the specific risk to public health. Genotyping was performed using MnPCRRFLP; T. gondii-specific IgG antibodies were detected using a modified agglutination test (MAT); and statistical data were extracted from official records and provided by government authorities. The results indicate that, from 2006 to 2021, the median number of annually slaughtered pigs was 5.6 million, yet only 36.1% were processed by abattoirs. The remainder were “backyard pigs” slaughtered on family farms and homesteads. Toxoplasmosis seroprevalence in market-weight (MW) pigs prior to 2006 was 15.2%, and was 15.1% in 2019. The seroprevalence in owned city cats, likely infected by livestock meat, was 33.2%. ToxoDB#1 was identified in pig tissues. The results indicate that backyard pigs are the backbone of the industry and provide as much as 60% of the pork in Serbia. The seroprevalence in pigs and city cats shows that farms are reservoirs for the parasite. Thus, innovative means of reducing T. gondii infection designed with backyard farmers in mind are needed to reduce the risk to public health.", publisher = "MDPI", journal = "Microorganisms", title = "A Pork Industry in the Backyard: An Analysis of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Serbia’s Pigs", volume = "11", number = "7", pages = "1857", doi = "10.3390/microorganisms11071857" }
Uzelac, A., Betić, N., Karabasil, N., Ćirković, V., Djurković-Djaković, O.,& Klun, I.. (2023). A Pork Industry in the Backyard: An Analysis of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Serbia’s Pigs. in Microorganisms MDPI., 11(7), 1857. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11071857
Uzelac A, Betić N, Karabasil N, Ćirković V, Djurković-Djaković O, Klun I. A Pork Industry in the Backyard: An Analysis of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Serbia’s Pigs. in Microorganisms. 2023;11(7):1857. doi:10.3390/microorganisms11071857 .
Uzelac, Aleksandra, Betić, Nikola, Karabasil, Nedjeljko, Ćirković, Vladimir, Djurković-Djaković, Olgica, Klun, Ivana, "A Pork Industry in the Backyard: An Analysis of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Serbia’s Pigs" in Microorganisms, 11, no. 7 (2023):1857, https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11071857 . .