Toxoplasma gondii infection in slaughtered ewes in Khorramabad, west of Iran: A preliminary molecular study

The parasitic protozoa Toxoplasma gondii is widely prevalent in humans and warm-blooded animals. Humans are usually infected with T. gondii by ingesting oocysts shed by cats or by ingesting viable tissue cysts present in raw or undercooked meat.
This preliminary study was conducted to assess the frequency of Toxoplasma gondii infection in tissue samples of ewes slaughtered in Khorramabad, west of Iran.
We examined the brain tissue, diaphragm, tongue and masseter muscles of 30 ewes. A nested-PCR which targets the 25–50 copies of B1 sequence has been used for tissue samples.
The parasite was identified in 21 brain samples (70%) and 8 muscle samples (26.6%). Twenty-three sheep (76.6%) were infected with T. gondii.
T. gondii is might be considered as one of the major causes of ovine abortion in this region. According to the result, edible parts of sheep may play a greater role as a source of infection for individuals living in this area.