Serostatus of Small Ruminant Toxoplasmosis and Neosporosis
Throughout the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Türkiye
Ceylan Ceylan1, Ferda Sevinc2 and Onur Ceylan2*
1Siirt
University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of
Parasitology, Siirt 56000, Türkiye 2Selcuk University,
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Parasitology, Konya
42130, Türkiye
*Corresponding author:
onurceylan@selcuk.edu.tr
Abstract
Toxoplasma (T.) gondii
and Neospora (N.) caninum are two significant abortifacient
apicomplexan protozoa causing severe economic losses in livestock farming. This
study was designed to investigate the serological status of T. gondii and
N. caninum in sheep and goats across the Southeastern Anatolia Region of
Türkiye, including some provinces bordering Syria and Iraq. Totally, 906 serum
samples collected from female sheep (n=510) and goats (n=396) were investigated
for specific antibodies against these protozoa by recombinant TgSAG2 and
NcSAG1 protein-based indirect ELISA (iELISA). The individual
seroprevalence of T. gondii and N. caninum in sheep was determined
as 32.6 and 3.1%, respectively, while the seroprevalence of infection with both
species was 33.1%. On the other hand, T. gondii and N. caninum
seroprevalence in goats were 32.1 and 20.2%, respectively, while the total
seroprevalence of infection with both species was 39.4%. The highest
seroprevalence values for T. gondii (P<0.05) and N. caninum
(P>0.05) were determined in sheep from Diyarbakır and Mardin provinces,
respectively, while in goats, higher seroprevalence values for both protozoa
were determined in Diyarbakır province compared to other provinces (P<0.05).
Statistical analyses revealed that seroprevalence values varying between
provinces were significant (P<0.05), except for ovine neosporosis (P>0.05)
and when seroprevalence values between animal species were compared, caprine
neosporosis was statistically significantly higher (P<0.05). The fact
that 35.9% of the small ruminants enrolled in the study had been exposed to
abortive apicomplexan protozoa during their lives is a serious concern, given
the zoonotic aspects of these protozoa and the economic damage they can cause.
To Cite This Article:
Ceylan C, Sevinc F and
Ceylan O, 2024. Serostatus of small ruminant toxoplasmosis and neosporosis
throughout the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Türkiye. Pak Vet J, 44(3):
917-923.
http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2024.247