{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T17:28:15Z","timestamp":1785432495713,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,27]],"date-time":"2026-05-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779840000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"NSFC-Yunnan Joint Fund","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["U2202201"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["U2202201"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["32260889"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32260889"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["32260889"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32260889"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Yunnan Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology","award":["202449CE340019"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["202449CE340019"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Veterinary Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Toxoplasma gondii is a food- and environment-borne protozoan that is associated with human infection, food safety and animal health. Despite Yunnan Province being a major food-producing animal region in China, comprehensive data on the seroprevalence and risk factors of T. gondii infection in its food animals remain limited. This study investigated the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection among pigs, sheep and goats, cattle and poultry across all 16 prefectures\/cities in Yunnan Province. From April 2023 to December 2024, a total of 10,766 blood samples were collected from clinically healthy livestock and poultry, including 2954 pigs, 1950 cattle, 1961 sheep and goats, and 3901 poultry. Sera were examined for the presence of specific antibodies against T. gondii by the Modified Agglutination Test (MAT). Seroprevalence was calculated, and statistical analyses were conducted to assess risk factors (geographic location, season, and animal species). The overall seroprevalence was 13.7% (1474\/10,766), with species-specific rates of 26.3% (516\/1961) in sheep and goats, 15.1% (446\/2954) in pigs, 12.9% (252\/1950) in cattle, and the lowest (6.7%, 260\/3901) in poultry. Seroprevalence varied considerably across regions, ranging from 9.4% to 27.5%, with the highest prevalence rate being observed in Diqing (27.5%, 141\/515). Based on statistical analysis, season, region and animal species were identified as significant risk factors associated with T. gondii infection in Yunnan Province. Overall, this first province-wide investigation revealed widespread exposure of T. gondii across both regions and species. Stringent and sustained control measures against toxoplasmosis of livestock, poultry, and humans in Yunnan Province are recommended.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vetsci13060517","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,27]],"date-time":"2026-05-27T12:31:56Z","timestamp":1779885116000},"page":"517","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in Livestock and Poultry in Yunnan Province, China: A Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Meng-Ling","family":"Deng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"The Yunnan Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China"},{"name":"College of Bioengineering, Sichuan Water Conservancy Vocational College, Chengdu 611130, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhi-Yan","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Yunnan Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yu-Cong","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Yunnan Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Man-Li","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Yunnan Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6103-3821","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lu-Yang","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Yunnan Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jian-Fa","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Yunnan Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2530-4628","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xing-Quan","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanxi Key Laboratory of Animal Disease Research, Prevention and Control, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3188-4550","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jun-Jun","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Yunnan Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Feng-Cai","family":"Zou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Yunnan Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetpar.2016.12.010","article-title":"Survival of Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites in simulated gastric fluid and cow\u2019s milk","volume":"233","author":"Koethe","year":"2017","journal-title":"Vet. Parasitol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"378","DOI":"10.1007\/s10393-019-01405-7","article-title":"The One Health Approach to Toxoplasmosis: Epidemiology, Control, and Prevention Strategies","volume":"16","author":"Aguirre","year":"2019","journal-title":"Ecohealth"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1082","DOI":"10.1645\/GE-683.1","article-title":"Prevalence of viable Toxoplasma gondii in beef, chicken, and pork from retail meat stores in the United States: Risk assessment to consumers","volume":"91","author":"Dubey","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Parasitol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"76","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prevetmed.2018.11.009","article-title":"Assessment of the feasibility of serological monitoring and on-farm information about health status for the future meat inspection of fattening pigs","volume":"162","author":"Felin","year":"2019","journal-title":"Prev. Vet. Med."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e686","DOI":"10.1093\/cid\/ciaa428","article-title":"Toward Improving Interventions Against Toxoplasmosis by Identifying Routes of Transmission Using Sporozoite-specific Serological Tools","volume":"71","author":"Milne","year":"2020","journal-title":"Clin. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_6","first-page":"10","article-title":"Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Management of Cerebral Toxoplasmosis","volume":"34","author":"Elsheikha","year":"2021","journal-title":"Clin. Microbiol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"292","DOI":"10.1186\/s13071-015-0902-6","article-title":"Diagnosis of toxoplasmosis and typing of Toxoplasma gondii","volume":"8","author":"Liu","year":"2015","journal-title":"Parasit. Vectors"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"R770","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2018.05.035","article-title":"Toxoplasma\u00a0gondii","volume":"28","author":"Kochanowsky","year":"2018","journal-title":"Curr. Biol."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"49","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-4939-9857-9_3","article-title":"Isolation and Genotyping of Toxoplasma gondii Strains","volume":"2071","author":"Su","year":"2020","journal-title":"Methods Mol. Biol."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dubey, J.P. (2016). Toxoplasmosis of Animals and Humans, CRC Press.","DOI":"10.1201\/9781420092370"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetpar.2006.05.008","article-title":"Comparison of detection methods for Toxoplasma gondii in naturally and experimentally infected swine","volume":"141","author":"Hill","year":"2006","journal-title":"Vet. Parasitol."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"55","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetpar.2015.09.004","article-title":"Toxoplasmosis in sentinel chickens (Gallus domesticus) in New England farms: Seroconversion, distribution of tissue cysts in brain, heart, and skeletal muscle by bioassay in mice and cats","volume":"214","author":"Dubey","year":"2015","journal-title":"Vet. Parasitol."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"82","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1863-2378.2009.01281.x","article-title":"Statistical evaluation of test accuracy studies for Toxoplasma gondii in food animal intermediate hosts","volume":"57","author":"Gardner","year":"2010","journal-title":"Zoonoses Public Health"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"919","DOI":"10.1111\/tbed.14047","article-title":"Isolation, genotyping and virulence determination of a Toxoplasma gondii strain from non-human primate from China","volume":"69","author":"Xin","year":"2022","journal-title":"Transbound. Emerg. Dis."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102090","DOI":"10.1016\/j.parint.2020.102090","article-title":"Low prevalence of viable Toxoplasma gondii in swine from slaughter houses in the central of China","volume":"76","author":"Su","year":"2020","journal-title":"Parasitol. Int."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"55","DOI":"10.1007\/s10393-022-01575-x","article-title":"A Meta-Analysis of the Prevalence of Toxoplasmosis in Livestock and Poultry Worldwide","volume":"19","author":"Hajimohammadi","year":"2022","journal-title":"Ecohealth"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yang, Z., Yuan, H., Nie, L., Wen, Q., Li, H., Yang, L., Song, Y., Luo, X., Zhang, X.X., and Yuan, Z.G. (2024). Deciphering the epidemiological dynamics: Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence in mainland China\u2019s food animals, 2010\u20132023. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol., 14.","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2024.1381537"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6","DOI":"10.1051\/parasite\/2019006","article-title":"Toxoplasma gondii infection and toxoplasmosis in North Africa: A review","volume":"26","author":"Rouatbi","year":"2019","journal-title":"Parasite"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dong, H., Su, R., Lu, Y., Wang, M., Liu, J., Jian, F., and Yang, Y. (2018). Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Genotypes of Toxoplasma gondii in Food Animals and Humans (2000\u20132017) From China. Front. Microbiol., 9.","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2018.02108"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, X., Shen, W., Wu, P., Wang, C., Li, J., Wang, D., and Yue, W. (2024). How Food Consumption Trends Change the Direction of Sheep Breeding in China. Animals, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani14213047"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mukhopadhyay, D., Arranz-Sol\u00eds, D., and Saeij, J.P.J. (2020). Influence of the Host and Parasite Strain on the Immune Response During Toxoplasma Infection. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol., 10.","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2020.580425"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pan, M., Lyu, C., Zhao, J., and Shen, B. (2017). Sixty Years (1957\u20132017) of Research on Toxoplasmosis in China-An Overview. Front. Microbiol., 8.","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2017.01825"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6218","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-018-24361-8","article-title":"Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in pregnant women and livestock in the mainland of China: A systematic review and hierarchical meta-analysis","volume":"8","author":"Deng","year":"2018","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"743","DOI":"10.1007\/s00436-021-07415-1","article-title":"Geospatial epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii infection in livestock, pets, and humans in China, 1984\u20132020","volume":"121","author":"Su","year":"2022","journal-title":"Parasitol. Res."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/s00436-014-4176-2","article-title":"Toxoplasma gondii infection among sheep and goats in Iran: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"114","author":"Sharif","year":"2015","journal-title":"Parasitol. Res."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Belluco, S., Mancin, M., Conficoni, D., Simonato, G., Pietrobelli, M., and Ricci, A. (2016). Investigating the Determinants of Toxoplasma gondii Prevalence in Meat: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression. PLoS ONE, 11.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0153856"},{"key":"ref_27","first-page":"996E","article-title":"Relationship between seroprevalence in the main livestock species and presence of Toxoplasma gondii in meat (GP\/EFSA\/BIOHAZ\/2013\/01) An extensive literature review. Final report","volume":"13","author":"Opsteegh","year":"2016","journal-title":"EFSA Support. Publ."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"165","DOI":"10.1186\/1756-3305-4-165","article-title":"Toxoplasma gondii infection in humans in China","volume":"4","author":"Zhou","year":"2011","journal-title":"Parasit. Vectors"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"710","DOI":"10.1089\/vbz.2023.0120","article-title":"Seroprevalence and Risk Factors of Toxoplasma gondii Infection of Cattle and Goats in Farms of Hunan Province, China","volume":"24","author":"Shen","year":"2024","journal-title":"Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e014819","DOI":"10.1590\/s1984-29612019101","article-title":"Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii in domestic cattle, sheep, goats and pigs from S\u00e3o Tom\u00e9 and Pr\u00edncipe","volume":"29","author":"Pereira","year":"2020","journal-title":"Rev. Bras. Parasitol. Vet."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"772","DOI":"10.1645\/20-82","article-title":"Public Health Significance of Toxoplasma gondii Infections in Cattle: 2009\u20132020","volume":"106","author":"Dubey","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Parasitol."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101928","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cimid.2022.101928","article-title":"High infection rates of Toxoplasma gondii in cattle, sheep and pigs from Israel","volume":"92","author":"Mazuz","year":"2023","journal-title":"Comp. Immunol. Microbiol. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"258","DOI":"10.1089\/vbz.2019.2519","article-title":"Sero-Epidemiological Study of Selected Zoonotic and Abortifacient Pathogens in Cattle at a Wildlife-Livestock Interface in South Africa","volume":"20","author":"Adesiyun","year":"2020","journal-title":"Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"180","DOI":"10.1016\/j.meatsci.2017.07.004","article-title":"Molecular detection of Toxoplasma gondii infection in slaughtered ruminants (sheep, goats and cattle) in Northwest Tunisia","volume":"133","author":"Amdouni","year":"2017","journal-title":"Meat Sci."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e015719","DOI":"10.1590\/s1984-29612019106","article-title":"Toxoplasma gondii in cattle in Brazil: A review","volume":"29","author":"Gomes","year":"2020","journal-title":"Rev. Bras. Parasitol. Vet."},{"key":"ref_36","first-page":"105","article-title":"Investigation and genotyping of Toxoplasma gondii infection in Yunnan Province","volume":"53","author":"Li","year":"2021","journal-title":"Anim. Husb. Vet. Med."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"287","DOI":"10.1007\/s00436-021-07334-1","article-title":"Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in chickens in China during 1993\u20132021: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"121","author":"Nie","year":"2022","journal-title":"Parasitol. Res."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101119","DOI":"10.1016\/j.onehlt.2025.101119","article-title":"Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in goats and sheep in Qatar","volume":"21","author":"Rahman","year":"2025","journal-title":"One Health"}],"container-title":["Veterinary Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2306-7381\/13\/6\/517\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,28]],"date-time":"2026-05-28T10:36:59Z","timestamp":1779964619000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2306-7381\/13\/6\/517"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,27]]},"references-count":38,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]}},"alternative-id":["vetsci13060517"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/vetsci13060517","relation":{},"ISSN":["2306-7381"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2306-7381","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,27]]}}}