Seroprevalence of caprine toxoplasmosis in Fars Province, Southern Iran

Toxoplasmosis is a widespread zoonotic disease causing significant morbidity and foetal loss in immunocompromised human patients. Furthermore, it is the major cause of abortion in sheep and goats. As caprine meat is the favourite meat of Muslims, an infected meat is one of the major sources of human subjets. So, due to its public health importance, this study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of toxoplasmosis among goats in Southern Iran. They were randomly collected and tested for toxoplasmosis by indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) during 2005. The total prevalence of toxoplasmosis among goats was 14.02%. The rate of seropositivity for 1/64, 1/128, 1/256 and 1/512 dilutions was 9.35%, 2.67%, 1% and 1%, respectively. The highest and lowest prevalence of seropositivity were observed in Darab (20%) and Abadeh (6.7%) cities, respectively. Considering the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in goats of the Province, control measures should be undertaken to prevent transmission of the infection to the animals and humans by the authorities in Health and Veterinary organizations.