Preliminary detection of <i>Toxoplasma Gondii</i> in goats slaughtered at the Kumasi Abattoir

Abstract

The protozoan Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that infects all homoeothermic animals, including humans. The study aimed to isolate T. gondii from the diaphragm of goats and to estimate the prevalence of T. gondii infection in goats at the Kumasi abattoir. A 2cm x 1cm sample was obtained from the skeletal muscle (diaphragm) of 100 goats slaughtered at the Kumasi abattoir. Samples were kept in 10% formalin, sectioned, deparaffinized, rehydrated, and stained with haematoxylin and eosin to identify only T. gondii tissue cysts, including bradyzoites and tachyzoites. The data obtained were entered into to Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (version 2016) and analysed using GraphPad Prism software (v. 9.2.0 (332). Results revealed Toxoplasma gondii present in slaughtered goats at a prevalence of 42%. Male animals (53.7%) were mostly affected by Toxoplasma gondii as compared to the females (38.7%) at the Kumasi abattoir. Goats which were 2 years of age recorded a higher prevalence of 48.5% followed by goats within the age of 1 year (40.0%), 1 ½ year (36.4%) and 3 years (40.0%) whilst goats of 2 ½ years old recorded least prevalence (40.0%) of Toxoplasma gondii infection. The West African Dwarf goats (WADG) recorded a lower prevalence of 23% whilst the Sahelian breed of goats recorded a higher percentage prevalence of 29%. Nevertheless, breed (p=0.865), age (p=0.920) and sex (p=0.155) of goats did not have statistically significant effects on the prevalence of T. gondii infection in goats. Institution of surveillance and reporting system for Toxoplasma gondii in goat populations in Ghana is recommended to stakeholders because of its public health importance.