Sima Rasti - Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
Nader Marandi - Department of Parasitology and Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran

Background and Aim:Toxoplasmosis is one of the most common zoonotic diseases, which cause abortion in human and animals. Consumption of undercooked meat is one of the main routes of the infection. The present study was conducted to detect T. gondii infection by molecular method in livestock samples in Kashan, Iran.Methods:This Cross-Sectional study was carried out on livestock slaughtered in Kashan in different seasons. A total of 180 heart samples from sheep and goats were investigated. After DNA extraction, Polymerase Chain Reaction method (PCR) was carried out using tox4 and tox5 primers. By observation of a 529 bp band, PCR was assigned as positive. Data such as sex, season, and molecular results were recorded in SPSS ver 16 and analyzed by chi-square and Fisher test.Results:The T. gondii DNA was detected in 24 out of 180 animals (13.3%) by PCR. The highest and lowest infection rates were 24.4% and 2.2% in the autumn and winter respectively (P=0.001). Also, there was no significant difference between male and female (P=0.619).Conclusion:The rate of infection with T. gondii in livestock was relatively high. Since the sheep and goats are the most important meat sources of Iranian people, health education in order to consumption of cooked meats could be considered for control and prevention of infection.

Toxoplasma gondii, PCR, Livestock, Kashan