Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) and cows (Bos taurus) at the Tabriz abattoir, Iran

Toxoplasma gondii is a widely prevalent zoonotic protozoan parasite in humans and warm-blooded animals worldwide. Humans usually become infected through consuming water or food contaminated with oocysts or by ingesting tissue cysts in undercooked meat. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of T. gondii in the meat of buffaloes and cows slaughtered in Tabriz slaughterhouse, Iran using PCR. Fifty grams of heart, thigh, diaphragm and tongue of 50 buffalo and 100 cows slaughtered at the Tabriz industrial slaughterhouse were randomly sampled and tested using a previously published PCR method. Of the 150 animal samples, T. gondii was detected in 10 (6.6%) including one buffalo (2%) and nine cows (9%). The rate of infection was the same for buffalo and cattle (P > 0.05). Also, there was no significant relationship between the rate of infection and age, sex or organs assessed (P > 0.05). Although the rate of infection of animals slaughtered in Tabriz slaughterhouse is low, the presence of T. gondii still poses a risk to human health. Therefore, appropriate and effective preventive measures should be taken to limit the transmission of this parasite to humans and the consumption of raw and undercooked meat should be discouraged.