The seroprevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in domestic goats inUganda

Only limited epidemiological information is available on the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in domestic livestock in sub-Saharan Africa. In Ugand a, goats are important to the local economy and are also popular food anima ls. A high incidence of T. gondii infection in goats would have implication s both for animal production and for public health, but no data is availabl e on Toxoplasma infection in these animals. In this study we estimated the seroprevalence of antibodies against T. gondii in goats located in both urb an and rural environments and from different geographical regions within Ug anda. Goat sera were collected using a random, two-stage clustering method. Of 784 samples analysed by antibody-ELISA from various districts in Uganda , 240 tested positive. The combined (cluster-adjusted) seroprevalence was 0 .31 (31%) (95% confidence intervals 0.28, 0.34) indicating a substantial le vel of infection in these regions. Seroprevalence was significantly higher in goats from urban locations. A strong positive relationship between age a nd seroprevalence was demonstrated and a mathematical model based on contin uous exposure proved generally accurate in predicting seroprevalence. Farm environments were identified as being suitable for oocyst survival and tran smission, and the reported incidence of caprine abortion was high. The impo rtance of toxoplasmosis to goat production in Uganda has yet to be determin ed, but the high seroprevalence detected in this study suggests that it may have a significant impact and that the consumption of goat meat may play a role in zoonotic transmission to humans. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. Al l rights reserved.