A hotspot of Toxoplasma gondii Africa 1 lineage in Benin: How new genotypes from West Africa contribute to understand the parasite genetic diversity worldwide.

ABSTRACT: Through international trades, Europe, Africa and South America share a long history of exchanges, potentially of pathogens. We used the worldwide parasite Toxoplasma gondii to test the hypothesis of a historical influence on pathogen genetic diversity in Benin, a West African country with a longstanding sea trade history. In Africa, T. gondii spatial structure is still non-uniformly studied and very few articles have reported strain genetic diversity in fauna and clinical forms of human toxoplasmosis so far, even in African diaspora. Sera from 758 domestic animals (mainly poultry) in two coastal areas (Cotonou and Ouidah) and two inland areas (Parakou and Natitingou) were tested for T. gondii antibodies using a Modified Agglutination Test (MAT). The hearts and brains of 69 seropositive ani

SUBMITTER: Hamidovic A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7904144 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature