Prevalence of Zoonotic Intestinal Parasites in Meat Goats in Southern Thailand.

Background: Intestinal parasites not only lead to poor goat health and productivity but can also affect human health. We investigated the distribution of zoonotic intestinal parasites among goats in southern Thailand to assess the human health risks. Materials and Methods: Overall, 561 fecal samples were collected randomly from goats in farms (55) in Songkhla, Satun, Pattalung, Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat provinces between January 2020 to January 2022. Parasite eggs were detected via the standard protocol formalin ether concentration technique (FECT). Results: Samples containing one or more intestinal parasites accounted for 97.33% (543/561) of the total samples, and the percentage of zoonotic parasite was 80.04% (449/561). Among the positive samples, two types of zoonotic helminths were identified, Strongylid egg type (79.32%) and Fasciola spp. (2.14%). Strongylid egg type was highly abundant in samples from Satun (84.62%), Songkhla (82.74%), Pattalung (79.31%), and Yala (77.27%). Fasciola spp. was mostly found in samples form Pattalung (13.79%) and Songkhla (1.12%). Eimeria spp. was the mostly identified protozoa 25.67%. It was mostly identified in samples from Narathiwat (75%), Pattani (41.9%), and Songkhla (31.41%). Mixed infections accounted for 40.82% of the total with 33 patterns. It was found that Strongylid egg types occurred in 28 patterns (84.85%). Strongylid egg types-Eimeria spp.-pattern was the most commonly found. Conclusion: Based on the results, zoonotic helminth infection was found together with widespread and high diversity of intestinal parasites infection in meat goats, which affect animal health and may pose a risk to human health. Mass deworming programs with a proper anthelmintic drugs and good agricultural practices need to be encouraged by the government so that people who contact with goats should practice good hygiene behavior. Farm management should be applied by intensive goat raising with pasture circulating to reduce parasite egg contamination. Moreover, fresh fertilizers from goat faces should be avoided.

Prevalence and Virulent Gene Profiles of Sorbitol Non-Fermenting Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Isolated from Goats in Southern Thailand.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is the pathogenic E. coli causing disease in humans via the consumption or handling of animal food products. The high prevalence of these organisms in ruminants has been widely reported. Among STECs, O157 is one of the most lethal serotypes causing serious disease in humans. The present study investigated the prevalence of sorbitol non-fermenting STECs in goats reared in the lower region of southern Thailand and described the virulent factors carried by those isolates. Sorbitol non-fermenting (SNF)-STECs were found in 57 out of 646 goats (8.82%; 95% CI 6.75% to 11.28%). Molecular identification revealed that 0.77% of SNF-STEC isolates were the O157 serotype. Shiga toxin genes (stx1 and stx2) and other virulent genes (i.e., eaeA, ehxA, and saa) were detected by molecular techniques. The presence of stx1 (75.44%) was significantly higher than that of stx2 (22.81%), whereas 1.75% of the total isolates carried both stx1 and stx2. Most of the isolates carried ehxA for 75.44%, followed by saa (42.11%) and eaeA (12.28%). In addition, 21.05% of STEC isolates did not carry any eaeA, ehxA, or saa. The first investigation on SNF-STECs in goat was conducted in the lower region of southern Thailand. The present study revealed that goats could be one of the potential carriers of SNF-STECs in the observing area.

Prevalence and risk factors of Campylobacter infection in goats in southern provinces of Thailand.

Campylobacter is a foodborne pathogen that could be isolated from various types of livestock, including small ruminant. The objectives of the current study were to investigate the prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in goats reared in the south of Thailand and identify the risk factors associated with Campylobacter infection of goat in Thailand. A total of 600 rectal swabs of goats from 45 farms in 6 provinces of Southern Thailand were collected during 2016-2020. To analyse the risk factors associated with Campylobacter infection in goat, data collection was conducted via structured questionnaires. Campylobacter isolation was performed by direct plating on modified charcoal cefoperazone deoxycholate agar (mCCDA). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to identify genus and species of the isolates. In total, 68 out of 600 rectal swab samples (11.33%; 95% CI 8.96 to 14.21%) collected from goats were positive for Campylobacter. The prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in the province level ranged from 0 to 31.48%. Interestingly, Campylobacter lanienae was the dominant species, followed by Campylobacter coli and Campylobacter jejuni. To investigate the risk factors associated with Campylobacter infection in goats, farm management factors, i.e. deworming, fencing around the house, housing design, number of animals on farm, use of antibiotics and vaccination, were included in logistic regression analysis. Statistical analysis revealed that the use of antibiotics and deworming were associated with Campylobacter infections in goats. The current study emphasises that the prudent use of antimicrobials and good agricultural practices should be applied in goat farming.

Investigation of Leptospira Infection in Stray Animals in Songkhla, Thailand: Leptospirosis Risk Reduction in Human.

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis of public health concern in Thailand. Human leptospirosis presents severe illness and can be fatal due to pulmonary hemorrhage, kidney failure, or cardiac impairment. Infected animals show no clinical signs and play an important role in the Leptospira infection of humans and other hosts. The prevalence of leptospirosis in stray animals in Thailand is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of Leptospira infection in stray animals including dogs and cats in Songkhla province, Thailand. A total of 434 blood samples were collected from 370 stray dogs and 64 stray cats during a population control program from 2014 to 2018. Screening the serum samples using the latex agglutination test to detect antibodies against Leptospira interrogans showed that 29.26% (127/434) were positive. There were 120 positive samples for stray dogs and 7 positive samples for stray cats. The detection of positive samples by polymerase chain reaction specific to the LipL32 of L. interrogans showed 1.61% (7/434) were positive. Stray cats (5/64) showed a higher prevalence than stray dogs (2/370), which might be because they are more likely to come into contact with rodents in their habitat. Although the active infection detected was low, the seroprevalence was high. This result indicated that the stray animals might not have been infected at the time of sample collection, but that they had been infected in the past or were in a latent period of infection. Therefore, they might serve as a leptospirosis reservoir for domestic animals and humans present in the same environment. The results show that stray animals need health care, such as vaccination, surveillance, and treatment, when infected to prevent or reduce the risk of transmission to humans.

Distribution and Genetic Profiles of Campylobacter in Commercial Broiler Production from Breeder to Slaughter in Thailand.

Poultry and poultry products are commonly considered as the major vehicle of Campylobacter infection in humans worldwide. To reduce the number of human cases, the epidemiology of Campylobacter in poultry must be better understood. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine the distribution and genetic relatedness of Campylobacter in the Thai chicken production industry. During June to October 2012, entire broiler production processes (i.e., breeder flock, hatchery, broiler farm and slaughterhouse) of five broiler production chains were investigated chronologically. Representative isolates of C. jejuni from each production stage were characterized by flaA SVR sequencing and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Amongst 311 selected isolates, 29 flaA SVR alleles and 17 sequence types (STs) were identified. The common clonal complexes (CCs) found in this study were CC-45, CC-353, CC-354 and CC-574. C. jejuni isolated from breeders were distantly related to those isolated from broilers and chicken carcasses, while C. jejuni isolates from the slaughterhouse environment and meat products were similar to those isolated from broiler flocks. Genotypic identification of C. jejuni in slaughterhouses indicated that broilers were the main source of Campylobacter contamination of chicken meat during processing. To effectively reduce Campylobacter in poultry meat products, control and prevention strategies should be aimed at both farm and slaughterhouse levels.