Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoa that can infect all homeothermic animals. The occurrence of antibodies against T. gondii in back yard chicken, from rural properties of Jaguapitã county, Paraná State, Brazil was studied, serun samples were analysed by Indirect Immunofluorescence Assay (IFA). Titers higher or equal to 16 were considered positives. A total of 155 sera were studied, 16 (10.3%) of which were positive to T. gondii, whereas 139 (89.7%) were non-reactive. The most frequent titers were 64 (5/31.2%); 16 (4/25%) and 1024 (4/25%); whereas the highest titer was 1024 (4/25%). The seropreavlence of T. gondii was not influenced by avian sex (Fisher exact p = 0.12), by the avian purpose (fisher exact p = 0.39), by the percentage of positive cats in the same property (r = -0.19 p = 0.27), nor by the number of positive cats (r = -0.09 p = 0.60). The present work showed a high occurrence of antibody against T. gondii in domestic chicken from rural properties in Jaguapitã county. These animals may be source of infection to human beings and to other animals when consumed raw or semiraw.
toxoplasmosis in chicken; seroprevalence; seroepidemiology; Toxoplasma gondii
