Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Sciences

Abstract

Birds are intermediate hosts that play a significant role in Toxoplasma gondii epidemiology and infection transfer to humans by eating their raw or undercooked meat.The aim of this study was to diagnosis the Toxoplasma gondii infection in three species of wild birds (Columba livia, Streptopelia senegalensis and Passer domesticus) in the province of Babylon from May 2021 to August 2021, using a latex agglutination test and molecular diagnosis with Nested-P.C.R for SAG1 gene identification. Results showed that antibodies were detected in 56/144 (38.88%) samples. Furthermore, results of the Nested PCR technique for detection of SAG1 gene revealed that 41 (73.21%) of the samples positive for the latex test were only found in three species of birds. These three species of birds were found infected with T.gondii with possible transmission to human beings. For the first time, it was recorded that the species, S. senegalensis, was infected with the T. gondii in Iraq.