Molecular detection of Toxoplasma gondii in meat for human consumption in Ibague city, Colombia

Introduction: Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite having great zoonotic potential; it can infect a broad range of warm-blooded hosts (including livestock) and causes significant losses for farming. Regarding humans, it has been described as being a pathogen in immunosuppressed people, affecting foetus development in congenital infections and is associated with various behavioural disorders in healthy people. Humans can acquire T. gondii by consuming undercooked, contaminated meat. Objective: To determine T. gondii positivity (currently unknown) in meat for human consumption (i.e. beef, chicken and pork) in the city of Ibague, Colombia. Materials and methods: Conventional nested PCR was used in this study; the T. gondii B1 gene sequence was used as amplification target. Samples of meat (186) being sold in the urban area of Ibague were collected (62 beef, 62 chicken and 62 pork samples). T. gondii positivity percentage was obtained for each type of meat evaluated here. Results: The study found an average 18.8% positivity for all meat samples, pork having the highest percentage (22.5%: 14/62), followed by beef (19.3%: 12/62) and chicken (14.5%: 9/62). The best amplified products were sequenced by Macrogen and aligned with the B1 gene sequences in GenBank, thereby confirming their identity. Conclusions: This is the first study of T. gondii prevalence in meat for human consumption carried out in the city of Ibague in Colombia's Tolima department, showing that all three types of meat sampled represent a risk for local human infection.