Evidence that primary infection of Charollais sheep with Toxoplasma gondii may not prevent foetal infection and abortion in subsequent lambings

Morley, EK, Williams, RH, Hughes, JM, Thomasson, D, Terry, RS, Duncanson, P, Smith, JE and Hide, G ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3608-0175 2008, 'Evidence that primary infection of Charollais sheep with Toxoplasma gondii may not prevent foetal infection and abortion in subsequent lambings' , Parasitology, 135 , pp. 167-173.

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Abstract

A study carried out on a sheep farm examined whether Toxoplasma gondii foetal infection and associated abortion occur in successive lambings. We identified 29 ewes that gave birth to lambs on at least 2 successive years over our study period,2000–2003. Tissue samples from the progeny of these ewes were analysed by PCR to determine infection status with T. gondii. T. gondii-infected lambs were born in 31% of successive pregnancies. T. gondii-positive lambs were aborted in successive pregnancies in 21% of lambings during study period, 2000–2003. The frequency of successive abortions within this flock over the period 1992–2003 was 18%. If a lamb was congenitally infected there was a high risk (69%) that the successive lamb from that ewe would also be congenitally infected. Similarly, if a lamb was aborted there was a high risk (55%) of abortion in the next lamb produced. These data suggest that life-long immunity to T. gondii infections may not always be acquired following an initial infection and raises the question as to whether the mechanisms of T. gondii transmission prior to and during ovine pregnancies are fully understood.

Item Type:	Article
Themes:	Subjects / Themes > Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology Subjects outside of the University Themes
Schools:	Schools > School of Environment and Life Sciences > Ecosystems and Environment Research Centre
Journal or Publication Title:	Parasitology
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Refereed:	Yes
ISSN:	0031-1820
Depositing User:	Professor Geoff Hide
Date Deposited:	21 Dec 2009 12:01
Last Modified:	16 Feb 2022 09:07
URI:	https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/2710

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