Seroprevalence and spatial distribution of toxoplasmosis in relation to various risk factors in small ruminants of Punjab, India

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligatory apicomplexan, intracellular, ubiquitous, eurykaryotic zoonotic pathogen that infects all warm blooded animals and recognized worldwide as one of major causes of infectious abortions and reproductive failure in small ruminants.

In the present study, 823 small ruminants (245 sheep, 578 goats) evaluated for T. gondii infection by ELISA to explore seroprevalence and spatial distribution of toxoplasmosis from different agro-climatic zones of Punjab.

A high seroprevalence (40.58%) of T. gondii recorded in small ruminants being higher in sheep (42.85%) than goat (39.60%). Seropositivity of toxoplasmosis in sheep and goat with history of abortion was found to be 63.80 and 50.00%, respectively. Goats with the history of abortion were 1.72 times more at risk (Cl=1.15–2.56) to T. gondii infection as compared to animals without the history of abortion (Cl=0.39–0.86). Similarly, sheep with the history of abortion were 2.74 times more at risk (Cl=1.31 -5.71) to toxoplasmosis as compared to sheep without abortion history (Cl=0.17–0.76). Goat and sheep farms with frequent access to cats were 2.03 times (CI=1.05–3.90) and 4.04 times (Cl=1.78–9.14) more at risk, as compared to farms with limited cats access. Spatial distribution and predictive seroprevalence analysis indicate possible risk of toxoplasmosis in whole of the state with higher possibility of disease in agroclimatic zones III, IV and V.