Prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in cattle and pigs reared in eastern areas of Gyeongbuk province

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii (TG) in cattle and pigs reared in eastern areas of Gyeongbuk province by ELISA. Among 368 sera collected from 119 cattle farms, 76 (20.7%) sera from 34 (28.6%) farms had antibodies to TG. Fifty (27.2%) out of 184 cattle in Uljin-gun and 26 (14.1%) out of 184 cattle in Yeongdeok-gun were positive. Pyeonghae (50.0%) in Uljin-gun and Dalsan (33.3%) in Yeongdeok-gun had the highest TG antibodies in cattle compared to other areas. Prevalence of TG antibodies in cattle was increased with age. Among 368 sera collected from 43 pig farms, 62 (16.8%) sera from 16 (37.2%) farms had antibodies to TG. Forty (21.7%) out of 184 pigs in Uljin-gun and 22 (12.0%) out of 184 pigs in Yeongdeok-gun were positive. Uljin and Puk (40.0%) in Uljin-gun and Yeonghae (33.3%) in Yeongdeok-gun had the highest TG antibodies in pigs compared to other areas. Prevalence of TG antibodies in sows was higher than that in fattening pigs. Seasonally, prevalence of TG antibodies in pigs was highest in summer (23.4%) and lowest in winter (12.5%). Based on these observations, data indicate that infection by the protozoan parasite TG is widely prevalent in cattle and pigs reared in eastern areas of Gyeongbuk province.