Effectiveness and costs of interventions to reduce the within-farm Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence on pig farms in the Netherlands

Autor: Henk J. Wisselink, Martijn Bouwknegt, D.M. Eppink, Joke van der Giessen, Inge M Krijger, M. Swanenburg, Marcel van Asseldonk, Coen van Wagenberg
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Epidemiology
Veterinary medicine
Psychological intervention
Seroprevalence
Farm Technology
WASS
0403 veterinary science
0302 clinical medicine
Rodent control
Intervention measures
SF600-1100
Medicine
Consument & Keten
Small Animals
Interventions
biology
Bacteriologie
Bacteriology
Host Pathogen Interaction & Diagnostics
04 agricultural and veterinary sciences
Innovation- and Risk Management and Information Governance
Animal culture
Neutering
Pigs
Risk assessment
Audits
Bioinformatica & Diermodellen
040301 veterinary sciences
030231 tropical medicine
Toxoplasma gondii
SF1-1100
03 medical and health sciences
Environmental health
parasitic diseases
Bio-informatics & Animal models
Epidemiology
Bio-informatics & Animal models
Pig farms
Host Pathogen Interaction & Diagnostics
Epidemiologie
business.industry
Research
Bacteriology
biology.organism_classification
Food safety
Host Pathogen Interactie & Diagnostiek
Risk factors
Epidemiologie
Bioinformatica & Diermodellen
Bacteriologie
Host Pathogen Interactie & Diagnostiek
Cats
Agrarische Bedrijfstechnologie
Animal Science and Zoology
Consumer and Chain
business
Zdroj: Porcine Health Management
Porcine Health Management, 7
Porcine Health Management, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2021)
Porcine Health Management 7 (2021)
ISSN: 2055-5660
DOI: 10.1186/s40813-021-00223-0
Popis: Background The parasite Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is recognized as one of the major foodborne pathogens with a high human disease burden. To control T. gondii infections in pigs, European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) advises serological testing of pigs and audits of pig farms to identify risk factors for T. gondii infection. In line with this approach, the aim of the current study was to assess the effectiveness and costs of intervention measures implemented to reduce the T. gondii seroprevalence on finishing pig farms in the Netherlands. A crossover clinical trial was conducted at five case farms were their own control and the cross-over moment was the implementation of interventions to reduce risk factors. Each of the case farms had a farm-specific intervention strategy with one principal intervention measure (neutering of cats, professional rodent control or covering food storage). Results All finishing pig farms (n = 5) showed a reduction in T. gondii seroprevalence within one year of implementing the intervention strategy. Cat neutering (n = 3) and feed coverage (n = 1) showed statistically significant reductions in seroprevalence. Rodent control (n = 1) did not show a statistically significant reduction. The estimated reduction in seroprevalence in response to the neutering of cats and feed coverage were 67 and 96 %, respectively. Conclusions Our work demonstrates that it is possible to reduce the within-farm T. gondii seroprevalence within one year after interventions were implemented to reduce T. gondii risk factors. This information is essential and encouraging for policy makers, food business operators, and farmers to implement in their risk assessment and to apply to food safety control systems.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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