Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma Gondii antibodies in sheep and goats slaughtered at the Kumasi Abattoir, Ghana

ABSTRACT Toxoplasmosis, caused by T. gondii, is an important zoonosis worldwide. In Ghana, information on the disease in humans abounds but scanty in animals. This study was therefore conducted to estimate the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection sheep and goats sampled from the Kumasi Abattoir in Ashanti Region, Ghana. A total of 347 serum samples collected from 170 sheep and 177 goats were analyzed for the presence of T. gondii antibodies using a commercial ELISA kit. Results of this study estimated the seroprevalence of 23.7% in goats an, 35.9% in sheep. In sheep, 24 (35.82%) out of a total of 67 male samples were positive and 37 (35.92%) out of a total of 104 female samples were positive while in goats, 6 (8.2%) bucks out of a total of 73 were positive while 36 (34.6%) does out of a total of 104 were positive. There was a significant difference in the rate of seropositivity of female goats (p-value 0.01). This study confirms the existence of T. gondii infection in small ruminants in Ghana and it showed that sheep and dogs are more at risk to T. gondii infection hence meat from such animals could be a potential risk to public health if consumed raw or undercooked.