Veterinary vaccines against Toxoplasma gondii

Toxoplasma gondii has a very wide intermediate host range and is thought to be able to infect all warm blooded animals. The parasite causes a spectrum of different diseases and clinical symptoms within the intermediate hosts and following infection most animals develop adaptive humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. The development of protective immunity to T. gondii following natural infection in many host species has led researchers to look at vaccination as a strategy to control disease, parasite multiplication and establishment in animal hosts. A range of different veterinary vaccines are required to help control T. gondii infection which include vaccines to prevent congenital toxoplasmosis, reduce or eliminate tissue cysts in meat producing animals and to prevent oocyst shedding in cats. In this paper we will discuss some of the history, challenges and progress in the development of veterinary vaccines against T. gondii.

PCR technique for detecting Toxoplasma gondii in animal amniotic fluid.

The goal of diagnosing congenital toxoplasmosis is early detection of maternofetal transmission, for early treatment to prevent unwanted sequelae. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method used recently for detecting toxoplasmosis during pregnancy. Amniotic fluid is a the clinical specimen used, since it provides a rapid, simple and safe method to obtain accurate results. The advantages of the PCR technique are high sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value compared with other laboratory methods. To determine the sensitivity, specificity and lower detection limits in our laboratory, amplification of the B1 gene by nested PCR was performed on Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites added to animal amniotic fluid samples. From 48 samples, our technique detected T. gondii in 30 out of 41 positive samples, and gave negative results for all the negative samples. The sensitivity for this nested PCR was 73%, the specificity was 100%, and the efficiency of the test was 77.1%. The nested PCR technique is recommended as a diagnostic method for detecting T. gondii in suspected congenital toxoplasmosis animals.