Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35109904›Full record

ArticleActa veterinaria Scandinavica2022

Seroprevalence of Encephalitozoon cuniculi and Toxoplasma gondii antibodies and risk-factor assessment for Encephalitozoon cuniculi seroprevalence in Finnish pet rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus).

Johanna Mäkitaipale, Emmi Järvenpää, Anne Bruce, Satu Sankari, Anna-Maija Virtala, Anu Näreaho

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Acta veterinaria Scandinavica, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
1.8field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. The Prevalence ofMicroorganisms · 2024
    Article
  4. Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023
    Article
  5. A Review ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Johanna MäkitaipaleDepartment of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 57, 00014, Helsinki, Finland. johanna.makitaipale@helsinki.fi.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1231-7323
Emmi JärvenpääDepartment of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 66, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.
Anne BruceDepartment of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 66, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.
Satu SankariDepartment of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 57, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.
Anna-Maija VirtalaDepartment of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 66, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.
Anu NäreahoDepartment of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 66, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.
University of Helsinki · FI

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNeurological signs, such as head tilt, torticollis, paralysis, and seizures, are common in rabbits. Differential diagnoses include two zoonotic infections caused by the microsporidial fungi Encephalitozoon cuniculi and the apicomplexan protozoa Toxoplasma gondii. Both infections are mainly latent in rabbits but may cause severe or even fatal disease. Although several international studies have reported the seroprevalence of these pathogens in different commercial rabbit populations, similar prevalence studies and risk-factor analyses among family-owned pet rabbits are uncommon and lacking in Scandinavia. We sought to estimate the seroprevalence and possible risk factors for E. cuniculi and T. gondii among Finnish pet rabbits. We used ELISA to measure E. cuniculi IgG seroprevalence of 247 rabbits and modified direct agglutination test for T. gondii seroprevalence of 270 rabbits. Samples were collected as part of the Finnish Pet Rabbit Health Research project. Internet-based questionnaires (n = 231) completed by the rabbit owners were used for risk-factor analysis.

resultsThe apparent seroprevalence of E. cuniculi was 29.2% and true seroprevalence of T. gondii 3.9%. Risk factors were analysed only for E. cuniculi due to the low T. gondii seroprevalence. The final multivariable logistic regression model revealed that rabbits spending the whole summer outdoors had a higher risk of being E. cuniculi seropositive than rabbits with limited outdoor access. Additionally, rabbits living in households with only one or two rabbits had higher risk of being E. cuniculi seropositive than those in multi-rabbit households.

conclusionsNearly one third of Finnish pet rabbits participating in this study had E. cuniculi IgG antibodies, indicating previous exposure to this pathogen. The prevalence is similar to that reported previously in clinically healthy rabbit populations in UK and Korea. While the seroprevalence of T. gondii was low (3.9%), antibodies were detected. Therefore, these zoonotic parasitic infections should be considered as differential diagnoses when treating rabbits.

Indexed as

Encephalitozoon cuniculiEncephalitozoonosisToxoplasmaAnimalsAntibodies, FungalFinlandRabbitsSeroepidemiologic StudiesAntibodies, FungalELISAEncephalitozoonosisIgGMultivariable logistic regressionParasitologyToxoplasmosis

Identifiers

PMID35109904
PMCPMC8812214
OpenAlexW4210404267

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.