Molecular detection of toxoplasmosis in wild rats using loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay

Vet World Vol.17 July-2024 Article - 18

Research Article

Veterinary World, 17(7): 1575-1580

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2024.1575-1580

Heni Puspitasari^1,2, Lucia Tri Suwanti^2,3, Mufasirin Mufasirin^2,3, Kusnoto Kusnoto³, Ira Sari Yudaniayanti⁴, Boedi Setiawan⁴, Endang Suprihati³, Eduardus Bimo Aksono⁵, Dwi Priyo Widodo⁶, April Hari Wardhana⁷, Makoto Matsubayashi⁸, and Elly Nur Indasari^2,9

1. Doctoral Program of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya 60115, Indonesia.
2. Toxoplasma Study Group, Institute of Tropical Disease, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya 60115, Indonesia.
3. Division of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya 60115, Indonesia.
4. Division of Clinic Veterinary, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya 60115, Indonesia.
5. Division of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya 60115, Indonesia.
6. Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia.
7. Research Center for Veterinary Sciences, Organization for Health, National Research Center for Veterinary Sciences, Cibinong, 16911, Indonesia.
8. Department of Veterinary Immunology, Graduate School of Veterinary Sciences, Osaka Metropolitan Univesity, Osaka, Japan, 598-8531.
9. Department of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, 65144, Indonesia.

Background and Aim: Toxoplasmosis is caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Cats are the only known hosts that excrete resistant oocysts. Wild rats serve as crucial reservoirs and intermediate hosts for T. gondii’s survival and dissemination. Consuming soil and water containing oocysts can lead to illness. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in wild rats through molecular detection as an indicator of environmental contamination in Surabaya.

Materials and Methods: One hundred rats were collected from the three areas (housing, dense settlements, and traditional markets) and distributed into the five zones: West, East, Central, North, and South of Surabaya. Brain tissue samples were extracted using a Geneaid™ (New Taipei City, Taiwan) DNA isolation kit and analyzed through the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method.

Results: The study analyzed brain tissue from 100 wild rats, consisting of 77 Rattus tanezumi and 33 Rattus norvegicus, displaying 30% LAMP positivity. The study revealed that 30% (30/100) of wild rats tested were infected with T. gondii. The molecular prevalence rate in male rats was 32.35% (22/68), compared to females with 25% (8/32). 41.9% of the housing population, 33.3% of traditional markets, and 22.6% of dense settlements had the highest molecular prevalence. The high positive molecular rate at the trapping site can be attributed to cats and dense populations.

Conclusion: Thirty percentage wild rats were tested positive for toxoplasmosis in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia using LAMP method. Implementing strict control and monitoring is crucial in preventing the transmission of diseases from wild rats to humans. It is necessary to carry out further research related to genetic analysis of T. gondii to determine the type of T. gondii that infects animals and humans in Surabaya through bioassay and molecular test.

Keywords: loop-mediated isothermal amplification, public health, tissue cyst, toxoplasmosis, wild rats.

How to cite this article: Puspitasari H, Suwanti LT, Mufasirin M, Kusnoto K, Yudaniayanti IS, Setiawan B, Suprihati E, Aksono EB, Widodo DP, Wardhana AH, Matsubayasi M, and Indasari EN (2024) Molecular detection of toxoplasmosis in wild rats using loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay, Veterinary World, 17(7): 1575-1580.

Received: 2024-03-21 Accepted: 2024-06-18 Published online: 2024-07-24

Corresponding author: Lucia Tri Suwanti E-mail: lucia-t-s@fkh.unair.ac.id

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.1575-1580

Copyright: Puspitasari, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.