Prevalence and molecular characterization of Toxoplasma gondii DNA in retail fresh meats in Canada

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite which infects a wide variety of mammals and birds worldwide, including humans. Human toxoplasmosis is primarily transmitted through the ingestion of tissue cysts in raw or poorly cooked meat and organs of infected animals, or through the ingestion of oocysts in food, water or soil contaminated with cat faeces. There is a distinct paucity of information on the prevalence and molecular characteristics of T. gondii in retail meats in Canada. This study reports the presence of T. gondii DNA in 4.3% (12 of 281) of packages of fresh ground beef, chicken breasts and ground pork purchased at retail in three Canadian provinces. T. gondii prevalence was very similar among all three meat types tested, and among the provinces sampled. Genotyping of positive samples by means of PCR-RFLP and DNA sequencing demonstrated the presence of both T. gondii type II (66.7%) and type III (33.3%). These findings provide baseline data on the prevalence of T. gondii DNA in fresh meats purchased at retail in Canada and will allow for more accurate and meaningful health risk assessments for the purposes of developing food safety guidelines and policies.