Serological survey of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in goats, sheep and cattle in slaughter houses of Mazandaran province, Iran

Background and Toxoplasmosis is a widespread zoonosis caused by Toxoplasma gondii. In addition to economic losses, this disease is transfer able to human and regarding the special ecological conditions of this parasite in nature of Mazandaran province, it is necessary to determine the situation of the disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of antibodies against T. gondii in cattle, sheep and goats slaughtered in official slaughterhouses in Mazandaran province, in 2004. To determine the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in slaughtered animals, in a descriptive cross-sectional study, 639 blood samples were obtained from cattle, sheep and goats between December 2004 and April 2005, from the three main geographical zones of Mazandaran province, Iran. Nine slaughterhouses were randomly selected in Western, Central and Eastern regions. Sera were extracted from 5mL venous blood samples, by centrifugation at 2000xg for 10 min, and were stored at –20º C prior to testing. Sera were screened for T. gondii antibodies by immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) and serum samples showing a titre of 1:16 were further diluted to determine the end point. Data were analyzed using Chi-square (X2) test. Of the 639 serum samples examined, 27.5% (176/639) showed positive titers equal or higher than 1:16 by IFAT. The highest frequency of antibody titres (1:16 titre) were found in sheep and the least in cattle (9%). The highest infection rates in cattle were seen in western region with 5.5 % antibody titres of 1:16. In three regions, 35% of sheep sera showed positive titers with high frequency of 1:16 antibody titre (17.3%) in Western region. Thirty percent of goat sera in 3 regions were seropositive and the highest infection rate was seen in 1:16 titre (18.5%) in Western region. The results of this study show that the presence of T. gondii specific antibodies for sheep and goats in Northern Iran is high, and the consequent risk of acquiring toxoplasmosis from human consumption of sheep and goat meat may be greater in this region.