title: Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in Chicken samples from delta of Egypt using ELISA, histopathology and immunohistochemistry.
abstract: Estimates of the zoonotic diseases are helpful for monitoring and improving public health. Laboratory-based surveillance provides crucial information for assessing zoonotic disease trends and developments. Toxoplasmosis is considered as a zoonotic disease and has both medical and veterinary importance since it leads to abortion in humans and several animal species. In view of the worldwide importance of T. gondii, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of T. gondii in chickens from the Delta of Egypt. A total of 304 blood and brain samples were collected from Egyptian chickens from Gharbiya, Qalyoubiya, Minufiya, Beheira, Kafr EL-Shaykh and Dakahlia Provinces. In order to determine the serological and histopathological prevalence of T. gondii, the samples were examined by ELISA, histopathology and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The prevalence of T. gondii was 11.18, 6.91, 6.91 % by ELISA, histopathology and IHC, respectively. Statistically significant differences in the prevalence of T. gondii were observed on the basis of season, sex and habitat. These data provide valuable information regarding the epidemiology of T. gondii infections in Egyptian chickens, which can be employed in developing efficient strategies for disease management and control.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Minufiya University, Shebin El-Kom, Egypt.
authors.forename: Hany M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
authors.forename: Fathy
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abdel-Ghaffar
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Minufiya University, Shebin El-Kom, Egypt.
authors.forename: Gamalat Y
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Osman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.
authors.forename: Safinaz H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: El-Shourbagy
authors.affiliation: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshifumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nishikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Minufiya University, Shebin El-Kom, Egypt.
authors.forename: Reham A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Khattab
keywords: Chicken; ELISA; Immunohistochemistry; Prevalence; TgSAG2; Toxoplasmosis