Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease/infection of medical and veterinary importance. The causative agent; Toxoplasma gondii, can infect warm blooded animals, birds as well as humans.  This study was designed to determine the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in slaughtered pigs in Makurdi, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study was designed in which 181 blood samples were collected from two pig slaughterhouses in Makurdi (Wurukum and Railway) from September to December 2014. Sera were harvested and stored at -20 ⁰C until required for processing. Indirect ELISA test kit (ID-Vet, France) was used to determine the presence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies. Sex, age and breed of each sampled pig was recorded. A total seroprevalence of 4.4% was obtained. Sex specific seroprevalence was 5.4 and 4.0 % for male and female respectively. Breed specific seroprevalence was 4.5 and 4.2 % for indigenous and exotic breeds respectively. Age specific seroprevalence was 4.7 and 0 % for pigs aged greater or equal to 8 months (≥ 8 months) and less than 8 months (< 8 months) respectively. This study found no significant association between sex, breed, age and presence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies (p > 0.05). The study provided preliminary information on Toxoplasma gondii infection in some pigs slaughtered for human consumption in Makurdi metropolis.

Keywords: Makurdi, Pigs, Seroprevalence, Slaughterhouse, Toxoplasma gondii