Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in sheep and goats

The aim of this investigation was to study the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in sheep and goats kept at one farm and to study the interactions between seropositivity and animals' body weight, age and reproduction results. The study was performed on 41 sheep and 35 goats. All animals were adult females. The indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT) was used to detect antibodies (IgG + IgM) in sera of sheep and goats. Titers greater than or equal to 8 were considered as positive. Moreover, in the cases of positive sera a test for IgM was conducted. The antibodies for T. gondii were found in 53.65% of the investigated sheep, but IgM were not found in any sheep. Infected sheep gave birth to heavier lambs, as their litters were smaller. Any other feature of sheep was connected with T. gondii infection. All studied goats were seronegative. The presented results are different from those obtained in a formerly published study on the prevalence of T. gondii in goats in Poland. Thus research on the prevalence of this parasite in sheep and goats should be continued.