ABSTRACT

Objective:

This study was carried out between June-December 2008 to determine the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in Pırlak sheep in the Şuhut district of Afyonkarahisar.

Methods:

Blood samples technically collected from 123 sheep older than one year old and 63 sheep younger than one year old were tested for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies using the Sabin- Feldman dye test.

Results:

Out of the 186 sera examined, 184 (98.92%) were seropositive at different dilutions (84 samples at 1/16, 79 at 1/64 and 21 at 1/256). The seroprevalence was 99.19% for sheep above 1 year old and 98.41% for sheep under 1 year old.

Conclusion:

We believe that this study carried out on Pırlak sheep would be useful for other studies on the effect of parasitism on the economy.