title: Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in Tibetan sheep in Tibet, China.
abstract: In the present investigation, the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in 455 Tibetan sheep in Tibet, China, was examined using an indirect hemagglutination test. Of these, 26 (5.7%) Tibetan sheep were seropositive at the cut-off of 1:64 serum dilution. The seroprevalence ranged from 2.2% to 8.9% among Tibetan sheep of <1-yr-old, 1-3-yr-old, and >3-yr-old, but the differences among the age groups were not significant (P > 0.05). The prevalence in male Tibetan sheep (2.8%) was lower than that in female Tibetan sheep (6.6%), but the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The results of this survey indicated the presence of T. gondii infection in Tibetan sheep, which may cause economic losses to the local livestock industry and which poses a potential threat to human health in this area.
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province 510642, China.
authors.forename: Song-Ming
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Ciren
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Danba
authors.forename: Si-Yang
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: De-Lin
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ga
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Min-Jun
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Zi-Guo
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Xing-Quan
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006386:Hemagglutination Tests / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D018609:Tibet / Q000453:epidemiology; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology*; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan