TY  - JOUR
T1  - Seroprevalence of <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> in Ruminants in Morocco
AU - Essayagh, Meriem AU - Essayagh, Touria AU - Khallayoune, Khalid AU - Essayagh, Sanah AU - Lmimouni, Badreeddine 
JO  - Veterinary Research
VL  - 10
IS  - 1
SP  - 1
EP  - 5
PY  - 2017
DA  - 2001/08/19
SN  - 1993-5412
DO  - vr.2017.1.5
UR  - https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=vr.2017.1.5
KW  - Toxoplasma gondii
KW  -toxoplasmosis
KW  -cattle
KW  -sheep
KW  -Morocco
KW  -livestock animals
KW  -modified agglutination test
AB  - Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic zoonosis caused by <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> (<i>T. gondii</i>). Toxoplasmosis
diagnosis is critical especially in cattle and sheep flocks with a history of abortion outbreaks. Hence, <i>T. gondii</i>
has a major economic impact in rural areas. Prevalence studies of <i>T. gondii</i> infection in livestock animals in
Morocco are scarce hence, the objective of the current study is to determine <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i>
seroprevalence in bovines and ovines slaughtered in Northern and Southern Morocco. We collected 357 blood
samples from 226 bovines and 131 ovines in Meknes (Northern Morocco) and Settat (Southern Morocco)
slaughterhouses. We used a modified version of the direct agglutination test to detect anti <i>T. gondii</i> IgG
antibodies in collected sera. Bovine <i>T. gondii</i> seroprevalence values were similar in Northern and Southern
Morocco establishing at 7.5 and 8.5%, respectively. In contrast, ovine <i>T. gondii</i> seroprevalence values were
2.43 times higher in Southern than in Northern Morocco with values of 18.0% in Settat versus 7.4% in Meknes.
Additional epidemiologic studies are required to characterize the factors associated with this geographic
discrepancy in sheep and to evaluate whether this translates into human toxoplasmosis.
ER  -