Molecular detection of congenital toxoplasmosis in fetuses of slaughtered ewes in Khorramabad

Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite, which is widely prevalent in sheep throughout the world. Parasite infection can occur pre- or post-natally. Congenital ovine toxoplasmosis occurs following a primary infection in a pregnant ewe and leads to abortion and stillbirth of the fetus causing important economical losses to sheep industry. The present study was conducted to evaluate the presence of T. gondii DNA in brain samples from fetuses of slaughtered ewes in Khorramabad, west of Iran. In total, 60 brain samples of ovine fetuses were collected. Examined fetuses were categorized in three age groups (4 months). Fifty grams of each sample was homogenized by mortar and pestle. DNA extraction was performed using a DNA isolation kit (MBST, Iran). A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) which targets the repeated element (RE) of the organism was used for tissue samples. Brain samples were considered T. gondii-positive if the expected band size (529 bp) appeared. T. gondii was detected in 4 out of 60 (6·7%) examined fetuses. No case was recorded in the age group