Türkiye Parazitoloji Dergisi, 29 (1): 10-12, 2005 Acta Parasitologica Turcica © Türkiye Parazitoloji Derneği © Turkish Society for Parasitology Detection of Toxoplasmosis gondii Seropositivity in sheep in Yalova by Sabin Feldman Dye Test and Latex Agglutination Test Taraneh ÖNCEL 1 , Gülay VURAL 1 , Cahit BABÜR 2 , Selçuk KILIÇ 2 1 Veterinary Control and Research Institute, 34890, Pendik, İstanbul; 2 Refik Saydam Epidemic Diseases Research Directorate, Sıhhiye, Ankara SUMMARY: Sera collected from 63 sheep older than one year of age in two regions of Yalova were tested for anti- Toxoplasma gondii antibodies using the Sabin-Feldman Dye Test (SFDT) and Latex Agglutination Test (LAT). Of the 63 samples tested, 42 (66.66%) and 41 (65.08 %) were determined to be seropositive by SFDT and by LAT, respectively. Of the positive sheep serum samples, 23 were positive at a dilution of 1/16; 13, at a dilution of 1/64; and 6, at a dilution of 1/256. SFDT was accepted as a reference test. The sensitivity and specificity of LAT were 78.57% and 61.90 %, respectively. The correlation between these two tests was determined to be 73.01%. Key words: Toxoplasmosis, sheep, SFDT, LAT, Yalova Yalova ili Koyunlarında Toxoplasmosis gondii Seropozitifliğinin Sabin Feldman Dye Testi ve Latex Aglütinasyon Testi ile Saptanması ÖZET: Yalova iline bağlı iki ilçeden bir yaşın üstünde 63 koyuna ait serum örnekleri, Sabin Feldman Dye Testi (SFDT) ve Latex Aglütinasyon Testi (LAT) ile anti- Toxoplasma gondii antikorları yönünden kontrol edilmişlerdir. Yapılan serolojik muayene sonucunda 63 koyun serumunun 42’si (%66.66) SFDT ile; 41’i (%65.08) LAT ile seropozitif bulunmuştur. Seropozitif koyunlardan sulandırma basamağı 1/16'da 23 pozitif serum, 1/64'de 13 pozitif serum, 1/256'da 6 pozitif serum tespit edilmiştir. SFDT referans test olarak kabul edildiğinde LAT’ın duyarlılığı %78.57; özgüllüğü %61.90 olarak hesaplanmıştır. İki test arasındaki uyumluluk %73.01 olarak belirlenmiştir. Anahtar Sözcükler: Toksoplazmosis, koyun, SFDT, LAT, Yalova GİRİŞ Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii which is an intracellular protozoon. The disease is observed in most of the species including human beings, reptiles and birds. It causes important economic losses in sheep by resulting in prenatal deaths, stilbirths and abortions. The definitive hosts of the parasite are domestic cats and other felines. T. gondii is transmitted by the ingestion of feline oocysts in contaminated food and water or cysts in the tissues of an infected animal. Cysts formed in sheep are also sources of infection for human beings too (1, 6, 10, 11, 16) . Transplacental transmission of tachyzoites or following ingestion of tachyzoites in unpasteurised sheep or goats milk or blood transfusions can occure but are probably not important epidemiologically (15). The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis has been reported by many researchers all around the world and T. gondii has been known in many countries since 1908 (7). The prevalence rates in sheep have been varied among countries and diagnostic methods used (16). In Turkey, it was reported that these rates were between 7.1 % and 88.7 % on regional basis (2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 17). Prevalence of the infection has not been investigated in small ruminants in Marmara region. The purpose of this study was to determine both the prevalance of toxoplasmosis in sheep in Yalova in Marmara region and differences between SFDT (Sabin-Feldman Dye Test) and LAT (Latex Agglutination Test). Geliş tarihi/Submission date: 30 Mart/30 March 2004 Düzeltme tarihi/Revision date: 29 Kasım/29 November 2004 Kabul tarihi/Accepted date: 14 Aralık/14 December 2004 Yazışma /Correspoding Author: Taraneh Öncel Tel: (+90) (216) 390 68 33 Fax: (+90) (216) 354 76 92 E-mail: taranehoncel@hotmail.com