Veterinary-physicians collaboration towards the diminution of toxoplasmosis in France

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is a globally distributed zoonosis caused by a protozoan Toxoplasma gondii able to infect all warm-blooded animals. Infection is generally asymptomatic or benign in humans except in cases of immunosuppression or maternal-fetal transmission (the cause of congenital toxoplasmosis). In livestock, it can be a source of abortions causing economic losses. Contamination is most often caused by ingestion of cysts (found in meat) or oocysts that contaminate plants or water. Only the part related to meat contamination is mentioned in this article. Thanks to a cooperation between veterinarians and physicians from the National Reference Laboratory of food-borne parasites (ANSES, Maisons-Alfort) and the National Reference Center for Toxoplasmosis, Reims (France), surveillance plans have been conducted aiming to estimate the levels of contamination of meat to better understand human epidemiology.