Project Number: 1265-32000-076-25
Project Type: Reimbursable

Start Date: Aug 05, 2006
End Date: Aug 04, 2009

Objective:
The purpose of this study will be to determine the national prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Trichinella spiralis in pigs using sera banked from the 2006 national swine study conducted by the USDA/NAHMS. These data will continue the comparative measure of the prevalence of these two zoonotic parasites, which have been surveilled under the NAHMS program since 1990. These data are critical to the implementation of effective control programs for toxoplasmosis and trichinellosis in domestic swine and for fact-based education of consumers, USDA regulatory agencies, and international trading partners concerning the safety of pork products.

Approach:
A statistically meaningful set of blood samples will be collected during the NAHMS 2006 National Swine Survey from randomly selected swine operations in the top hog producing states of the U.S. Samples will be assayed by ELISA for detection of antibodies to T. gondii and T. spiralis using commercially available test kits. Putative positive samples will be retested to confirm results. Results will be tabulated to determine a national prevalence of T. gondii and T. spiralis in the U.S. swine herd.