This study investigated the incidence of toxoplasmosis in sheep flocks in Palestine
through testing Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in sheep at three locations at the northern West
Bank and two cities in Jordan valley of the Palestinian Territories. A total of 2479 blood samples
were collected and the plasma was tested using indirect ELISA. Results showed that the infected
sheep were 20.5% of total samples. The infection was highest in Jenin (30.2%) followed by
Nablus (24%), Tulkarm (18.6%) Jericho (15.5%) then Tubas with lowest infection rate at 0.9%.
There was a significant (P < 0.05) difference in the rate of infection between all site compared to
Tubas. At the sheep farm level, Jenin was of highest infection rate (91.3%) followed by Tulkarm
(88.9%), Nablus (84.2%), Jericho (73%) and Tubas (9.1%). These findings indicated that sheep
products (milk, meat) might be at risk of contamination with the T. gondii, which had a potential
health problem to consumers of sheep origin products.
Key words: ELISA, Palestine, Sheep, T. gondii
 

Title

Indian J. Vet. Res.

Publisher

Indian J.

Publisher Country

India

Publication Type

Prtinted only

Volume

26

Year

2017

Pages

Indian J. Vet. Res. Vol. 26 No. 2 (2017): 17-20