Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Free-Ranged (FR) and Caged Chickens and Turkey by Bioassay and Serologic Methods in Hamadan, Iran

Introduction: Toxoplasmosis is a widely prevalent zoonotic disease, caused by T.gondii. Chickens, consumed widely in many countries, are considered as one ofthe most important hosts in the epidemiology of T. gondii infection because theycould be a main source of infection for both cats and humans. There was noinformation regarding T. gondii infection in chickens in this area, therefore, thisinvestigation carried out to determine the prevalence of T. gondii infections inpoultry in Hamadan.Methods: A total of 203 birds including free-ranged, caged chickens and 2 turkeys werestudied. The poultries sera tested by indirect hemagglutination test (IHA) for T. gondiiantibody. The birds brain tissue used for testing for T. gondii tissue cyst. Brain of eachbird grinded and suspension were made by normal saline and inoculated to peritonealcavity of five mice. Peritoneal aspirate examined for tachyzoites after 5-10 days. Dataregarding kind of bird, age, gender and raising type were recorded and analyzed.Results: Tissue cyst of T. gondii was detected by bioassay in the brain of 3 out of the 203samples (one FR and one caged) by peritoneal inoculation (1%). Seropositivity for T.gondii antibody was 6.1% (12.196). Positive cases were 6 FR hens, 1 caged chicken and5 roosters. No positive case found in the turkeys.Conclusion: This study indicates that, both FR and caged chickens may have similar riskof infection to T. gondii and can transmit the parasite to humans.

کلیدواژه ها:

Chicken ، Brain ، IHA ، Mice ، Prevalence ، Toxoplasma gondii