Scientists at the National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) in Hyderabad developed a first indigenously made point-of-care diagnostic kit to detect ‘Toxoplasma gondii’.
| Photo Credit: By Arrangement
Scientists at the National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) in Gachibowli have developed a first indigenously made point-of-care diagnostic kit to detect ‘Toxoplasma gondii’ infecting both humans and animals causing chronic illness.
This single test uses a chimera protein to detect T. gondii antibodies in humans and animals, and is a significant scientific breakthrough because Toxoplasma gondii is a “highly successful” intracellular parasite causing lifelong infections in humans, severe disease in foetuses and immunocompromised individuals.
An infection not only results in significant reproductive losses in farm animals but also has public health implications since consumption of infected meat can facilitate zoonotic transmission, explained senior scientist Abhijit S. Deshmukh, who led the research project.
The prevalence of Toxoplasma infection in farm animals like goat, sheep, cattle, and pig is estimated to be around 30-40%. For humans, the prevalence could be about 20% and if infected during pregnancy, leads to abortion, stillbirth and neonatal mortality. The disease is also fatal for immunocompromised HIV/AIDS patients. It also causes severe ocular infection at times leading to permanent vision impairment or blindness, said the scientist.
Dr. Deshmukh’s laboratory at NIAB research focus has been onthree important areas of the parasite – understanding the transcript maturation processes using a wide array of approaches, including protein biochemistry, cell biology, and genetics; determining the T. Gondii presence of the pathogen among the population or seroprevalence and the prevalent genotypes circulating in India.
His research team’s objective was also to develop a robust diagnostic tool for routine testing of T. Gondii infection on mass screening in the field and identifying potential drug targets. “We have identified the RNA-capping protein RNA triphosphatase as an attractive therapeutic target for T. gondii infection. Our team has developed this single test which can detect antibodies in humans and animals,” said the scientist.
“This kind of test will help diagnose the toxoplasma infection rapidly without using sophisticated instruments given the high prevalence in humans and farm animals in the country. At the farm level, using this test will improve the health and productivity of economically important livestock species,” said NIAB Director G. Taru Sharma.
The technology has been transferred to a private firm Techinvention Lifecare Ltd. for it’s commercialization and an Indian patent (#511742) has been granted for this invention recently, she added.
