Detection of B1 Gene of Toxoplasma gondii infection in Slaughtered Sheep in Isfahan Using the Nested PCR

Toxoplasma gondii is a common pathogen in humans and animals which can infect humans through the food sources. The consumption of mutton is more popular than other sources of animal protein in Iran. Since the sheep heart is usually eaten half-cooked and grilled, the transmission of toxoplasmosis occurs more often through the consumption of sheep heart. On the other hand, because the density of parasitic cysts in the brain and heart tissue is higher than other oral organs, sheep heart samples were used in this study. In the recent study, to detect toxoplasma in sheep heart slaughtered in Isfahan, 250 heart samples were collected from different sexes and ages in different seasons over the course of one year. After extracting the parasite genome, two pairs of primers related to B1 gene were amplified by nested PCR method. The results showed that 78% of the samples were generally infected with toxoplasma. In this study, there was no significant relationship between infection percentage and age and sex, but infection rate in cold seasons was significantly higher than in the warm seasons. Since the factors such as high humidity and low-temperature help to oocysts' survival, long exposure with toxoplasma oocysts can increase the sheep infection rate in the cold season. By considering the importance of this disease in sheep deaths and abortions and the importance of public health, appropriate control programs to prevent this zoonotic disease at the provincial level should be included in veterinary policies.