Toxoplasmosis is a protozoan disease that is caused by Toxoplasma gondii in livestock and humans. Due to its medical and veterinary importance, it is essential to study the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection among humans and animals in various parts of the world. The major objective of this study was to determine the seroprevalence and spatial distribution of toxoplasmosis in small ruminants (sheep and goats) of north-eastern region, Pakistan. A total of 1,000 animals comprising of sheep (n=470) and goats (n=530) were examined for T. gondii infection by using ELISA. An epidemiological data was collected in the form of questionnaire. A surface has been generated by using method of interpolation in Arc GIS with the help of IDW (inverse distance weight). The results showed higher seroprevalence of T. gondii in goats (42.8%) as compared to sheep (26.2%). The seroprevalence was higher in females as compared to males in all examined ruminants. Similarly, there is a wide variation in the seroprevalence of T. gondii in different breeds of sheep and goats showing higher seroprevalence in Teddy (52.8%) and Damani breed (34.5%) of goat and sheep’s, respectively. The geographical and spatial distribution of T. gondii shows that it is widely distributed in different parts of the north-eastern region of Pakistan. Our results suggest widespread environmental contamination with T. gondii oocysts. It suggests us that small ruminants could be a potentially important source of T. gondii infection if their infected meat is consumed undercooked.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Molecular identification, risk factors’ assessment and phylogenetic analysis of Toxoplasma gondii in goats from Malakand Division, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Ahmad Irshad, Shumaila Noreen, Uswa Sajid, Muhsin Jamal, Muhammad Anwar Iqbal, Ubaid Ullah, Talat Sabtain, Shakir Ullah, Eliana Ibañez-Arancibia, Patricio R. De Los Ríos-Escalante, Hanène Belkahia, Mourad Ben Said, Ayman A. Swelum Veterinary Research Communications.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Seroprevalence and Risk Variables Related To T. Gondii Infections in Sheep and Goats, Jimma Arjo District, East Wallaga Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia Misganu Bulla, Efrem Degneh, Tigist Ashagire Acta Parasitologica.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Toxoplasma gondii infection in small ruminants from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan: Seroprevalence, spatial distribution and associated risk factors Irfan Khattak, Tahir Usman, Ayman A. Swelum, Nasreen Nasreen, Adil Khan, Jamila Haider, Javed Muhammad, Chien-Chin Chen, Mourad Ben Said Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports.2024; 47: 100979. CrossRef
Seroprevalence and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection in goats from South Punjab Province, Pakistan Muhammad Yaser Khan, Alessandra Barlaam, Alessia Libera Gazzonis, Nicola Ferrari, Annunziata Giangaspero Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports.2024; 50: 101018. CrossRef
The Seroprevalence and Risk Factors of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Sheep in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, Southwest Iran Marziye Pashmforosh, Masoud Foroutan, Somayeh Haghi Karamallah, Ali Jamshidi, Mohamad Sabaghan Comprehensive Health and Biomedical Studies.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Spatial distribution of Q fever in sheep and goats of selective villages of Punjab Province, Pakistan Freeha Amin, Shahzad Ali, Ahmad Hassan, Imran Rashid, Heinrich Neubauer, Katja Mertens-Scholz BMC Veterinary Research.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Molecular detection of Toxoplasma gondii among commensal rodents from the Sahiwal division, Punjab, Pakistan Muhammad Rizwan, Shahzad Ali, Arshad Javid, Muhammad Imran Rashid Parasitology Research.2023; 122(1): 299. CrossRef
A review of foodborne Toxoplasma gondii with a special focus on its prevalence in Pakistan from 2000 to 2022 Warda Qamar, Abdullah F. Alsayeqh Frontiers in Veterinary Science.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Toxoplasma gondii in lactating animals: potential risk to milk consuming population in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa S. Khan, K. Rafiq, M. N. Khabir, M. B. Khan, S. N. Khan, A. Khattak, S. Attaullah Brazilian Journal of Biology.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Seroprevalence and Factors Associated with Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum, and Besnoitia besnoiti Infections in Cattle and Goats in Selangor, Malaysia Mohammed Babatunde Sadiq, Azim Salahuddin Muhamad, Siti Aisyah Hamdan, Siti Zubaidah Ramanoon, Zunita Zakaria, Nor Azlina Abdul Aziz, Rozaihan Mansor, Siti Suri Arshad, Nurulhidayah Khalid, Norhamizah Abdul Hamid, Juriah Kamaludeen, Sharifah Salmah Syed-H Animals.2023; 13(5): 948. CrossRef
Toxoplasma gondii infection in Egyptian domestic sheep and goats: seroprevalence and risk factors Abdelfattah Selim, Mohamed Marzok, Ayed Alshammari, Omar A. AL-Jabr, Mohamed Salem, Majed H. Wakid Tropical Animal Health and Production.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Serological survey of immunoglobulin G from Toxoplasma gondii infection in dairy goats in East Java, Indonesia Mira Fatmawati, Lucia Tri Suwanti, Mufasirin Mufasirin, Sulinawati Fong, Sisca Valinata, Didik Tulus Subekti, Fitrine Ekawasti, Hana A. Ali Awad Veterinary World.2023; : 1926. CrossRef
The Association of Toxoplasma gondii IgG Antibody and Chronic Kidney Disease Biomarkers Amani Babekir, Sayed Mostafa, Emmanuel Obeng-Gyasi Microorganisms.2022; 10(1): 115. CrossRef
Molecular survey of Toxoplasma gondii in cattle and buffaloes and phylogenetic position of Pakistani isolates based on ITS-1 gene Iram Taalay, Rana Khalid Iqbal, Muhammad Asif, Aqib Ahmad, Muhammad Amjad, Farhana Naureen Anwar, Munir Aktas, Mourad Ben Said, Furhan Iqbal Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.2022; 84: 101782. CrossRef
A systematic literature review and meta-analysis of Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence in goats Arlan Araujo Rodrigues, Sara Silva Reis, Elinalva da Silva Moraes, Edson Matheus Alves do Nascimento Araújo, Anderson de Moura Zanine, Thiago Vinicius Costa Nascimento, João Luis Garcia, Ivo Alexandre Leme da Cunha Acta Tropica.2022; 230: 106411. CrossRef
Small Ruminant Farming in Tribal Areas of Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, Pakistan Muhammad Ameen Jamal, Samiullah Khan, Yanhua Su, Chang Yang, Heng Zhao, Kaixiang Xu, Deling Jiao, Wenmin Cheng, Abdul Rauf, Mahboob Ali, Sohail Ahmad, Yubo Qing, Hong-Jiang Wei Veterinary Sciences.2022; 9(6): 279. CrossRef
The Association of Toxoplasma gondii IgG and Liver Injury in US Adults Amani Babekir, Sayed Mostafa, Radiah C. Minor, Leonard L. Williams, Scott H. Harrison, Emmanuel Obeng-Gyasi International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2022; 19(12): 7515. CrossRef
Seroprevalence and risk assessment of Toxoplasma gondii infection in sheep and goats in North and Beqaa governorates of Lebanon Sara Khalife, Sara Moubayed, Rosy Mitri, Regina Geitani, Dima El Safadi Veterinary World.2022; : 2180. CrossRef
Seroprevalence and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum infection in black goats in Yunnan Province, Southwestern China Xiao-Hui Hu, Shi-Chen Xie, Qin-Li Liang, Li-Xiu Sun, Zhao Li, Jian-Fa Yang, Xing-Quan Zhu, Feng-Cai Zou, Jun-Jun He Frontiers in Veterinary Science.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
Prevalence of Toxoplasmosis in Sheep and Goats in Pakistan: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Tanzila Mumtaz, Usman Ayub Awan, Aqsa Mushtaq, Muhmmad Sohail Afzal, Tahir Mahmood, Samia Wasif, Abid Ali, Kiran Ajmal, Teroj Mohamed, Ali Muhammad, Hua Liu, Haroon Ahmed, Jianping Cao Pathogens.2022; 11(11): 1331. CrossRef
Seroprevalence of
Toxoplasma gondii
infection in sheep and goats from different geographical regions of the world: Systematic review and meta‐analysis
Md Ahaduzzaman, Tanjila Hasan Transboundary and Emerging Diseases.2022; 69(6): 3790. CrossRef
Assessment of Geographical Distribution of Emerging Zoonotic Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Women Patients Using Geographical Information System (GIS) in Various Regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province, Pakistan Muhammad Jamil Khan, Murad A. Mubaraki, Sarwat Jahan, Baharullah Khattak, Manzoor Khan, Fozia, Malik Abid Hussain Khokhar, Ijaz Ahmad Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease.2022; 7(12): 430. CrossRef
Molecular and serological detection and of Toxoplasma gondii in small ruminants of southwest Iran and the potential risks for consumers Amin Yousefvand, Seyed Ali Mirhosseini, Masoud Ghorbani, Tahereh Mohammadzadeh, Mehrdad Moosazadeh Moghaddam, Shirin Mohammadyari Journal of Consumer Protection and Food Safety.2021; 16(2): 117. CrossRef
Epidemiological Survey of Toxoplasma gondii and Associated Risk Factors in Ruminant Species of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan Abid Ali, Talha Omer, Asad Ullah, Abdul Haleem, Maryam Naseem, Mujeeb Ullah, Seemab, Fahad Shamim, Amna Tehreem, Muhammad Bilal, Muhammad Numan Khan, Eric Agola Lelo Journal of Parasitology Research.2021; 2021: 1. CrossRef
The Association of Toxoplasma gondii IgG and Cardiovascular Biomarkers Amani Babekir, Sayed Mostafa, Emmanuel Obeng-Gyasi International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2021; 18(9): 4908. CrossRef
Abortive diseases and their various associated risk factors in small ruminants in Algeria: a systematic review Asma Haif, Nadjet Amina Khelifi-Ouchene, Manal Khelifi, Imane Ouchetati, Fayçal Zeroual, Nassim Ouchene Tropical Animal Health and Production.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
A Cross-Sectional Study on the Association Between Risk Factors of Toxoplasmosis and One Health Knowledge in Pakistan Tooba Maqsood, Khuram Shahzad, Shumaila Naz, Sami Simsek, Muhammad Sohail Afzal, Shahzad Ali, Haroon Ahmed, Jianping Cao Frontiers in Veterinary Science.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
Public health and economic importance of Toxoplasma gondii infections in goats: The last decade J.P. Dubey, F.H.A. Murata, C.K. Cerqueira-Cézar, O.C.H. Kwok Research in Veterinary Science.2020; 132: 292. CrossRef
Seroprevalence and Risk Factors of Toxoplasma gondii in Ruminant Meats from Wet Markets in Klang Valley and Abattoirs in Selangor, Malaysia Norhamizah Abdul Hamid, Mohammed Babatunde Sadiq, Siti Zubaidah Ramanoon, Rozaihan Mansor, Malaika Watanabe, Nur Mahiza Md Isa, Juriah Kamaludeen, Sharifah Salmah Syed-Hussain Animals.2020; 10(7): 1139. CrossRef
WITHDRAWN: Economic and public health importance of Toxoplasma gondii infections in sheep: the last decade J.P. Dubey, F.H.A. Murata, C.K. Cerqueira-Cézar, O.C.H. Kwok, C. Su Veterinary Parasitology: X.2020; : 100028. CrossRef
Economic and public health importance of Toxoplasma gondii infections in sheep: 2009–2020 J.P. Dubey, F.H.A. Murata, C.K. Cerqueira-Cézar, O.C.H. Kwok, C. Su Veterinary Parasitology.2020; 286: 109195. CrossRef
Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and associated hematological alterations in small ruminants of D.G. Khan district of Southern Punjab, Pakistan M.H. Lashari, U. Farooq, S. Mubeen, W. Hassan, M.F. Azhar, S. Shahida, M.I. Khan, S. Aslam, S. Masood, M. Anam, A. Wajid, M.T. Pervez, M.S. Akhtar, A.A. Farooq, S. Zafar, M. Nawaz, A.B. Gulshan Arquivo Brasileiro de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia.2020; 72(5): 1698. CrossRef
Seroprevalence and Risk Factors of Toxoplasma gondii in Wild Birds of Punjab Province, Pakistan Ahmad Naveed, Shahzad Ali, Haroon Ahmed, Sami Simsek, Muhammad Rizwan, Imdad Kaleem, Muhammad Asif Gondal, Asghar Shabbir, Fahad Pervaiz, Muhammad Aamir Khan, Muhammad Shahid Nadeem, Muhammad Sohail Afzaal, Sajid Umar Journal of Wildlife Diseases.2019; 55(1): 129. CrossRef
Toxoplasma gondii infection and toxoplasmosis in farm animals: Risk factors and economic impact S. Stelzer, W. Basso, J. Benavides Silván, L.M. Ortega-Mora, P. Maksimov, J. Gethmann, F.J. Conraths, G. Schares Food and Waterborne Parasitology.2019; 15: e00037. CrossRef
Cross-Sectional Survey on Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Cattle, Sheep, and Goats in Algeria: Seroprevalence and Risk Factors Mohamed-Cherif Abdallah, Miroud Kamel, Benfodil Karima, Ansel Samir, Khelef Djamel, Kaidi Rachid, Ait-Oudhia Khatima Veterinary Sciences.2019; 6(3): 63. CrossRef
Seroprevalence ofToxoplasma Gondiiantibodies in sheep and goats slaughtered at the Kumasi Abattoir, Ghana Kingsley E Bentum, Raphael D Folitse, Esther Amemor, Vitus Burimuah, Tony Opoku-Agyemang, Benjamin Obukowho Emikpe Journal of Immunoassay and Immunochemistry.2019; 40(5): 495. CrossRef
Molecular and serological prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Anaplasma spp. infection in goats from Chongqing Municipality, China Zuoyong Zhou, Yutong Wu, Yiwang Chen, Zhiying Wang, Shijun Hu, Rongqiong Zhou, Chunxia Dong, Hongquan Lin, Kui Nie Parasite.2018; 25: 20. CrossRef
First
Prev
