[Survey of Toxoplasma gondii infection rate in Rattus by ELISA method in Tehran]

ABSTRACT

Toxoplasmosis infection has spread throughout the world, it is created by the intracellular protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. Toxoplasma cause changes in the behavior of the rodents. Rodents play an important role in the life cycle of the Toxoplasma gondii, they are the main infection reservoir of the domestic cats. The purpose of this study was to investigation Toxoplasma infection in the Tehran's Rats. In this study, 150 mice were collected from all 5 regions of Tehran [North, South, East, West, Center] by live traps over 8-months period. For infection detection, anti-rat conjugate was used in ELISA method. The results showed that 36/7 percent of rats in Tehran have Toxoplasma infection. Maximum number of infected rats were found in the South and Central parts of Tehran with 11.7 percent and with minimum of 1.47 percent in the West of Tehran. The extent of infection indicates the importance of these wild rats in the persistence and life cycle this parasite