INVESTIGADORES
RUYBAL paula
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Toxoplasma gondii in meat products for human consumption
Autor/es:
CRICRI J; MONTIEL B; SANCHEZ VR; RUYBAL PAULA; MARTIN VALENTINA; MORETTA ROSALIA
Lugar:
Mar del Plata
Reunión:
Otro; Reunión anual de Sociedades de Biociencia; 2019
Institución organizadora:
SAIC-SAFE- SAB-SAP-AACyTAL-NANOMEDar-HCS
Resumen:
Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular protozoan with a worldwide prevalence in human and animal populations. Usually, the risk of infection is associated with contact with the feces of infected cats, although there are other means of infection inherent to the life cycle of the pathogen. Toxoplasma gondii is capable of infecting a wide range of warm-blooded animals that include birds and mammals. In infected (non-feline) animals, the parasite forms resistance structures called cysts, which may be present in different tissues including muscle. Since each cyst can contain 10 to 1000 parasites, the consumption of meat without proper cooking or the handling of raw meat itself constitutes an important route of infection.The aim of this study was to conduct a small scale survey in which we assessed the presence and viability of T. gondii in meat samples for human consumption. Meat products were acquired in retail stores from 11 localities of Buenos Aires City and surrounding areas. The presence of the parasite was confirmed by hemi-nested PCR for 12 out of 18 samples. To evaluate T. gondii viability, pepsin digested material was inoculated in C57BL/6 mice (2 to 3 mice per sample). Thirty days after inoculation, the animals were euthanized and serum, brain, liver and heart samples were collected. Indirect ELISA was conducted to detect seropositive animals. A total of 10 mice were positive for antibodies against T. gondii, representing 8 meat samples. Molecular detection in DNA extracted from mice brain showed that the parasite was present and viable in 9 meat samples.Additionally, we analyzed liver and heart samples by hemi-nested PCR to detect possible variations in T. gondii tropism. Presence in both, liver and heart, was confirmed for 7 samples.Future experiments will be focus in the characterization of T. gondii strain genotypes to gain insight into the distribution and variability of the parasite in meat products.