Sero-prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in sheep in different geographical regions of Nepal

Abstract

The present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in sheep in Nepal. Blood samples were collected from 235 sheep from three districts of three different eco-zones namely, mountainous Jumla (88), hilly Pokhara (62) and plain/terai Chitwan (85). The samples were tested by using commercial ELISA kit. The overall prevalence of T. gondii infection in sheep was 36.17% (CI: 30.29–42.49%). The region wise prevalence showed highest in Chitwan (57.65%; CI: 47.04–67.60%), followed by Pokhara (32.94%; CI: 23.88–43.48%) and Jumla (9.41%; CI: 4.85–17.49%). Prevalence of T. gondii in Jumla was significantly lower than Pokhara and Chitwan (p < 0.05) but no significant difference in seroprevalence was encountered between Pokhara and Chitwan (p > 0.05). Similarly, no significant difference (p > 0.05) in prevalence of T. gondii was found in sex and age groups (p > 0.05). The result showed that T. gondii parasite is widely spread in the studied geographical regions of Nepal.